Submitted by Dichotomy on
Some people feel an insatiable lust for power. They feel the need to control, exploit and dominate others. And they are willing to do anything they can to achieve that, including climbing the political ladder.
Such people have been called psychopaths, and are characterized by a severe lack of empathy and remorse, which means that they have no qualms about ruthlessly exploiting and abusing others in their thirst for power. Even worse, they tend to think that they are superior to other people, and therefore that they have the right to dominate them.
At the other end of the scale, we find highly empathetic, just, responsible individuals who feel compassion toward others and don’t crave power over them. Such people see themselves as equal to others, and would most likely refuse the offer of a high-status position, since doing otherwise would separate them from their fellow humans.
This, as you can understand, leaves positions of power open for ruthless individuals. And once those seize power, they don’t intend on ever relinquishing it. On the contrary, they are willing to take all measures to stay in power for as long as possible, even if that involves making anti-democratic decisions.
In fact, power-hungry politicians hate democracy, although most pretend to love it. For democracy is essentially about distributing political power among the people at large, in order to protect them from being ruled by such a pathological minority.
Yet as we know it today, democracy fails miserably at doing that. That’s because our so-called democratic systems tend to reward those who are best at deceiving, exploiting and outcompeting others for their personal gain. For example, politicians who rise to the top are usually highly charismatic figures who are great at harnessing the power of the media in order to present themselves as confident, decisive, “tough” defenders of the common people, although in reality they are highly insecure individuals who want power just so they can feel a sense of self-importance.
Now, such politicians tend to attract other similarly pathological people, thus forming coalitions that help strengthen and protect their power. Hence, what we often call democracy is actually a pathocracy – a term coined by the Polish psychologist Andrew Lobaczewski to describe governments made up of pathological people.
Of course, that doesn’t mean everyone involved in politics is pathological. Some politicians are kind-hearted and genuinely want to serve society, but sooner or later they tend to exit the political realm, either because they are ostracized by the malevolent people around them, or because they are disgusted by the sick environment they find themselves in.
In contrast, psychopathic politicians tend to persist until the end. Yet even when they rise to the top, they still feel that their power is not enough. At that point, they might start projecting their lust for power over their nation, and become obsessed with increasing their nation’s power and prestige. That sometimes leads them to wage financial or literal wars against other nations, whether in order to conquer or gain competitive advantage over them, which usually means worsening or altogether destroying the lives of hundreds of thousands or even millions of people.
Although such pathological leaders constantly try to increase their power, they also take extra care to stay seated in the positions of power they already have. For example, they might frequently try to scare the masses about real or made-up threats, and then present their political opponents as their only cause, and themselves as the only solution. Another example would be trying to dismantle or weaken democratic institutions they feel threatened by, such as those crucial for upholding the freedom and legitimacy of the press.
So, considering all that, what can we “normal” citizens do to safeguard our democracy from psychopaths or otherwise dangerous people?
Well, firstly, we need to understand that those people have so much power because we as a collective allow them to. You see, it is easy to blame, accuse, judge or dehumanize politicians, because it doesn’t require looking into the mirror and facing ourselves. But the truth is that each one of us is partly responsible for the political situation we are in, and acknowledging that is the most important step to making change.
Secondly, we need to become aware of why so many of us support pathological leaders without realizing it. The primary reason is that, evolutionary speaking, humans tend to be drawn to strongman figures, because those appear to be the most capable of protecting and serving us. That’s especially true in times of crisis, which perfectly explains the recent rise of authoritarianism worldwide.
Of course, power-hungry politicians know that very well, and exploit our insecurities against us. By accepting that those people exist and that we’re unconsciously attracted to them, we can make a conscious effort to see beyond their facade and evaluate them solely based on things that truly matter, such as their political vision, ideas and proposed action plans.
Lastly, we need to admit that our democracy is not quite democratic, and seek to change it. Voting once every few years for representatives that are heavily promoted by the corporate media and who rarely keep their promises once elected, doesn’t leave much decision-making power in our hands, which contradicts the very essence of democracy.
A true democratic system, on the other hand, would need to be participatory – that is, a system where citizens actively engage in decision-making processes, influencing laws, policies and community affairs directly, through mechanisms like referendums, initiatives, recall elections and town hall meetings. Such a model would do wonders to promote transparency, accountability, and civic empowerment. Therefore, it would leave very little room for dangerous people to gain an unfair amount of political power, and in case some did, it would be much easier both to identify and eliminate them.
***
To sum up, democracy is being strangled, and the only way to save it from death is to change how we think about it, as well as to set up structures that support rather than suppress it.
- 1606 reads