What do John Edwards, Bob Barr, Rod Blagjevich, John Ensign, Eliot Spitzer, Mark Sanford, William Jefferson, William Jefferson Clinton, David Vitter, James McGreevy, Tom DeLay, Charles Rangel, Newt Gingrich, and David Paterson have in common?
Obviously, they're all politicians who've been caught doing something illegal, unethical, mind-bogglingly self-destructive, or all of the above.
But what also binds them is that none of them seem to believe they really did anything wrong, in spite of vast evidence to the contrary. When they finally have no option but to appear contrite, their apologies feel stilted, scripted and anything but heartfelt.
The latest offender, New York Governor David Paterson, hasn't even gotten around to apologizing yet. In the meantime, he's apparently managed to convince himself that it's okay to phone up and intimidate a woman his top aide just viciously beat up. Then there's John Edwards. I've just finished reading The Politician by his aide, Andrew Young -- an irresistibly salacious takedown, but one that never gets near understanding Edward's breathtaking brazenness and utter obliviousness. Or how about the much-indicted Rod Blagjevich joining the cast of "The Apprentice?" while he awaits his own criminal trial -- and continues to profess his utter innocence despite dozens of tape recordings that make it clear exactly what he did.
Narcissism - suddenly the most overused word in the language -- simply doesn't do these guys justice. On a hunch, I decided to look up the word "sociopath," which it turns out isn't defined much differently than "psychopath." Here are some of the most common characteristics of both:
Sound anything like the politicians I've named above -- and perhaps your own friendly elected representatives?
These are men (and yes, they're all men) who've operated all their lives in a world that rewards them more for their acting abilities than for who they really are.
What Patterson, Edward and these other pols are missing, at the most basic level, is an inner life: the capacity for introspection and self-awareness, or any reliable connection to a deeply held set of values.
The consequence is that they feel no impulse to take responsibility for the consequences of their behaviors.
In Jim Collin's terrific book Good to Great, he concludes that great leaders are characterized by a paradoxical blend of fierce resolve and great humility. The politicians who've failed us most egregiously have no shortage of fierce resolve. What they're lacking is any authentic humility: the capacity to recognize and own their shortcomings alongside their strengths.
Most chilling of all, no form of treatment seems to work for the sociopathic personality. They want what they want when they want it. When they're caught, they may feel compelled to act better for a period of time, but they rarely really change. That's because they don't truly feel they've done anything wrong.
So maybe it's up to us, before we vote them into office, to look past who pols tell us they are and into whether there's anything authentic going on inside.
How do we get a better sense of who these guys really are? For my part, I'm going to start looking for politicians willing to tell us not just what they're going to do for us, but how they fall short.
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You have missed the key point about sociopath's. The acid test for sociopath is zero love or compassion for anyone. The true sociopath has no love or compassion for his parents, spouse, kids, the family dog, or anyone else in the world. Since the 96% of us who are not sociopath's generally find it impossible to believe that someone has zero love or compassion, it is easy for an intelligent sociopath to fool us to the contrary.
Simply possessing some or all of the above listed traits is no proof of sociopath. It is necessary for the true sociopath to pass the acid test of zero love or compassion for anyone.
People do need to realize this type of personality exists and how they operate-knowledge is power when it comes to dealing with this kind of personality and then getting away from it.
A Sociopath's main goal in life is to warp reality for everyone around him to such a degree that acting on his inner desires (i.e. being able to exhibit Sociopathic behavior with impunity) becomes acceptable, or even encouraged. So it's not hard from there to assume that our powerful country's political offices, (which as we've seen have absolutely no protections in place against such men and women getting into office) might be a bit of a draw.
That really throws me off.
I'm not a psychiatrist ,although I am an MD . My younger brother is a shrink.We are agreed the poster's hubris is almost unmatched in our clinical lives. Could you tell us a little more of your training ? Where,degreees,fellowship,residency.Many of us need in depth interviewing of a subject to make such a dx ,and we'd like to know how to dispense with these.
Seriously, the statement says quite a bit about the poster. Jack VAnce,probably the pre eminent fantasy author of the last century ( I highly recommend hs "Lyonesse" series ) has a character in "The Green Pearl " advise her fraternal twin , "Change,utterly." I would second this for anyone makes a post like this.A lot of self reflection is sorely needed.
Lack of humility is certainly a flaw .... but more devastating than lack of humility is the lack of character and integrity.
Suddenly, mediocre is looking more ... well ... normal.
http://coromandal.wordpress.com/2010/01/02/sociopaths-and-losers/
There is a link to a great article by Venkatesh Rao called the Gervais Principle, which describes the history well.
Sociopaths on Wall Street cause problems like our recent financial mess, use unethical labor practices and strongarming abroad for which we get blamed, and other social ills. On the other hand, I have an iPod and cool stuff and the ability to not get shot arbitrarily, and progress comes at the price of inequality. An economically equal society, regardless of ability, will stagnate, I think. So Wall Street is a bit more complicated.
But Sociopaths in Washington are always, always, always a disaster.
Root cause analysis has brought me to this result. I have never, in all my years in the corporate world seen such destruction of spirit at the hands of one person.
The focus of this individual has been made to shift .....this individual is being set up for failure through no fault of their own. No collaboration, no coaching, no development. Only pigeonholing. No positive reinforcement only fear. I have already mentored this individual on how to receive a bad performance based on senseless, unfounded, lack of coaching, lack of action plan for improvement accusations. This individuals only desire is to be the best they can be. This individual has not even been given a chance to fulfill their responsibilities.
This person has been isolated from talking to anyone. This person has creative ideas that land at the wall. Constant barrage of threats.
I know I am out of integrity for not escalating but it is not my place to do so and this individual is new to the position.