on psychopathy in high places (or, one of the reasons i drink)

[once again veering wildly from gutter to morality, because that's how we roll here.]

While there are always a certain small portion of the population who [are sociopaths or psychopaths], normally society acts to restrain them and their more vile impulses.

However, from time to time, the small percentage can gain enough power through ruthlessness and deception to foster an atmosphere that not only tolerates their excesses, but actually holds them up as an example for the young as well. When the power of greed in business finds a suitable match in the political arena, that partnership can seem almost unstoppable for a time. It is increasingly difficult to effect reform because so many of the more effective elements of society become corrupted and cynical to the point of apathy.

In a word, the governance of society becomes an organized hypocrisy engaged in systematic destruction, of not only others but also of society itself, especially as the others either resist more effectively or collapse from sheer exhaustion.

As I have mentioned before, in discussing this with some older fellows who have a bit of a broader personal perspective, and in reading deeply in history and its cycles, it seems as though the West entered into such a cycle, in the 1980's. It is merely reaching its full flower today.

The consequences on society as a whole, if history is any guide, will be profound, even moreso than we have seen so far.

the above from jesse, blogger extraordinaire, one of my never-fail daily reads. a clear-eyed, seasoned, successful trader who's lived all over the world, seen it all, made lots of money yet has never lost his humanity, jesse is a philosopher with no apparent ideology other than a humble, non-intrusive christianity (skewing classical-liberal if anything), whose knowledge base is broad and deep, and from which he attempts to put the events of the day into a historical perspective.

one of his strong beliefs is that psychopaths are running the world today; he backs up this contention with all sorts of compelling evidence, two examples of which are featured in his latest post.  from one of the articles he cites therein:

[T]hey seem to be unaffected by the corporate collapses they have created. They present themselves as glibly unbothered by the chaos around them, unconcerned about those who have lost their jobs, savings, and investments, and as lacking any regrets about what they have done.

They cheerfully lie about their involvement in events, are very persuasive in blaming others for what has happened and have no doubts about their own continued worth and value. They are happy to walk away from the economic disaster that they have managed to bring about, with huge payoffs and with new roles advising governments how to prevent such economic disasters.

Many of these people display several of the characteristics of psychopaths and some of them are undoubtedly true psychopaths. Psychopaths are the 1% of people who have no conscience or empathy and who do not care for anyone other than themselves.

while the above article focuses on corporate psychopathy, jesse (and i) believe that this rot has pervaded the realm of government as well (because, after all, the former couldn't thrive without the wholehearted collaboration of the latter, who know they will be richly rewarded for same via campaign funds and upon leaving office).

this goes a long way towards explaining how such luminaries as bill clinton, robert rubin, larry summers, phil gramm (and his wife), hank paulsen, tim geithner, alan greenspan, chris dodd, barney frank, jamie dimon, lloyd blankfein, vikram pandit--i could go on and on--can not only self-righteously deny their clear responsibility for the roles they played in the tragicomedy that is our economic downfall, but brazenly put themselves forward as the voices of reason who can lead us out of it.

[this also explains why, in last night's debate, mitt romney chose not to score a direct hit by slamming his opponent for not only giving the fraudulent banksters who caused this mess a free pass, but elevating many of the worst offenders to positions of power and influence in his administration--because how can he, when he too suckles from that same, pus-filled teat?]

i try to explain this to people sometimes, but they just can't get it--to them, psychopaths are serial killers, or villains in movies, or maybe hitlers and stalins.  this is understandable, i guess; people with consciences find it very difficult to wrap their minds around the idea that perfectly normal-appearing men and women who are possessed of no such constraints can walk among them undetected, and that such people are naturally drawn to positions of power over others.

and it is this collective blindness that allows psychopaths and sociopaths to thrive.  of course, as jesse also points out, a society possessed of a strong, collective sense of right and wrong tends to act as a natural check on the impulses of these monsters.  the problem comes when, through decadence, political correctness, apathy and/or other means, the pathology that takes root in high places begins its inevitable trickle down.

*     *     *     *     *

have you heard this story yet?  seems that last night, a couple decided that, screw the hotel room--they'd just have sex where they were.

"where they were", in case you haven't heard, happened to be at a table on the outdoor patio of a restaurant.

lest you assume that these were two lowlife, drug-addled cretins at some low-down dive, au contraire--we're talking an attractive, well-dressed young couple at a nice, midrange chain restaurant in an upscale area of orlando, at prime dinner hour, surrounded by a large crowd of middle-american tourists including families with small children.

and yet there they were, fucking on the table.

and lest you think that a hail of immediate and vociferous outrage on the part of said families arose and drove these vile corrupters of their precious youth from their midst, au contraire again.

they sat there, and watched.  and they let their children watch.  happiest place on earth, indeed.

oh, and lest you think this story has nothing to do with what the fuck i'm talking about here, may i just say au contraire one last time.

because, gentle readers, i want you to think about this:  if this is where we are as a society--and please don't tell me this incident represents an aberration, because i can give you a thousand more if you want--if we have devolved to the point where our middle classes can so easily and collectively turn a bland eye to corruption when it manifests itself in full view of their children, how can we ever muster the will to even acknowledge it, much less fight it, when it hides behind glossy corporate advertising and well-crafted campaign slogans?

ah, fuck it--it's happy hour somewhere, right?