6/3/19 – Biweekly Blog: “Narcissists, Sociopaths, and Psychopaths, Oh My!”
I am following up on last week’s Podcast, “The Problem with Too Much Narcissism”. I have talked a lot about empathy and compassion since the start of the Building Peace Initiative but what about people who seem to possess neither of these traits? That do not respond normally to kindness. Instead of reciprocating empathy and compassion they see it as an opportunity to exploit someone who is vulnerable. Kindness and compassion are seen as weakness and stupidity. Some of these people are often called Sociopaths or Psychopaths. If we take a look at the DSM-V they appear to be a combination of Narcissistic and Antisocial Personality Disorder.
The term Psychopath evokes images of Jeffrey Dahmer, Ted Bundy, Hitler, or Charles Manson. All indeed meet the criteria for Psychopath. But there are those among us who are not nearly as extreme as the as the aforementioned people who may seem quite normal on the surface but are not. We often find them in positions of authority. Perhaps as a CEO, an elected official, a boss at work, or a noxious neighbor. I want to share a site with you that contains traits of Psychopaths detailed by Hervey Cleckley, the author of “The Mask of Sanity” and Robert Hare an expert on Psychopaths: https://psychopathyawareness.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/the-list-of-psychopathy-symptoms/.
You will find this information very helpful when encountering such people, personally and professionally, in your lives. The referenced works have really helped me to understand that the foundation of psychotherapy, the therapeutic alliance, is basically a misalliance when it comes to these types of personalities. Likewise friendships, normally based on trust and reciprocity, are more likely to be based on exploitation. Compare their perspectives with the DSM-V descriptions of Narcissistic Personality Disorder and Antisocial Personality Disorder and you will find Cleckley and Hare provide much greater depth.
NPD and ASPD do not receive the attention warranted. They are serious often dangerous mental illnesses and like most mental illnesses they run along a spectrum. When I say dangerous, take a look at some of the dictators, past and present, who meet these criteria. You can also look at some of the CEO’s of various companies, Enron comes to mind, that did tremendous harm to many. The film “The Smartest Men in the Room” provides some insight into Enron and its leadership. In the movie “The Corporation” Dr. Hare talks about Corporations meeting the diagnostic criteria for a Psychopath. The movie addresses the potential consequences of having such powerful entities, with the goal being increased quarterly profits and little or no ethical considerations for the well-being of people, directing our economy and strongly influencing our politicians.
The last global economic crisis in 2008 was driven by greed and a lack of empathy by many of the leaders of various institutions. Here is a site that provides some insight into some of the unethical/illegal practices that cost millions of people economically and emotionally: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/apr/11/goldman-sachs-2008-financial-crisis-mortagage-backed-securities. Now the whole subprime loan crisis is a bit confusing to me as I am not an economist. It appears that banks loaned people money, mortgages, that they knew they would not be able to pay back and some corporations took out insurance, knowing that people could not pay the mortgages, then profited when the mortgages failed. Guess what also contributed to this? Deregulation! Nobody went to jail and corporations like Goldman Sachs continue to place people in influential positions in each new administration whether Republican or Democrat. And one of the latest Gary Cohn, an alumni of Goldman Sachs and a strong advocate for deregulation, became the chief economic adviser to President Trump. He did quit in 2018. Deregulation? From the same bunch who were at the forefront of the 2008 catastrophe? If these guys were driving a bus I would not get on it let alone trust my economic future to them. The last thing Narcissistic types need is less regulation as they already believe that rules don’t apply to them. Holding them accountable is a far better choice.
So if I bounce a check what happens? Well there are a lot of fees to pay and I could end up having my check displayed in an eatery as a form of public shaming if that is still allowed. Perhaps my credit rating will suffer. I would feel bad about it on a number of levels. Apparently that is one of the reasons I am not a millionaire. I feel guilt and responsibility if my actions cause harm. I must get over this (sarcasm). I am held accountable both by the legal system and my own internal ethics so I am being regulated externally and internally. Many who cause you harm feel no regret and keep going on their merry way. They exercise the type of mental gymnastics that allow them to blame you for your misfortune. If you were smart, like them, this would not have happened to you. You are not a real person to them, just a need gratifying object. So what if you lost your home and your credit rating has bottomed out. “It sucks for them” was the comment that was offered as a few of us were discussing the fact that global warming was going to displace billions due to rising sea level. That sentiment alone does not make you a Sociopath but it certainly lacks empathy. They are escaping internal regulation and in some cases external regulation. In essence they can get away with “it”.
Applying Dr. Hares work we not only have individuals who qualify as Sociopaths but entire corporations that act like Psychopaths. The question is are we a culture that creates Psychopaths by not holding them accountable for their actions and in fact even rewarding them when they do devastating harm to others. Let’s just take a look at few examples of institutionalized insanity, the Narcissistic and Antisocial type:
- Tobacco companies contribute to 450,000 deaths in the US annually. For years they denied that a correlation between smoking and cancer suppressing and denying, even in legal proceedings that it existed. Every customer that dies is a loss of income so they need to be replaced. This is why marketing is directed towards children because the younger you start the more likely you are to be a life-long smoker. Sound ethical?
- The opioid epidemic is in large part caused by marketing products that are too highly addictive to be sold such as OxyContin and Fentanyl. The pharmaceutical companies are supposed to monitor sales to see if there is an increase in usage which could mean an increase in addiction. Well, the lawsuits have begun. Brad Beckworth, an attorney working for the state of Oklahoma, argued that Johnson & Johnson created an oversupply of the drugs, saying, “If you oversupply, people will die.” He argued that Johnson & Johnson created that oversupply, and that its drug representatives pushed opioids into the state and encouraged doctors to prescribe them (NPR May 27, 2019). If we know something is causing harm why would we try to sell more of it?
- How about the Flint Michigan Water Crisis? https://www.nrdc.org/stories/flint-water-crisis-everything-you-need-know.
- “During Operation Ranch Hand” Agent Orange, a defoliant containing dioxin, was sprayed over Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos from 1961-1975 to defoliate vegetation and eliminate cover and food for the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese. About 20 million gallons were sprayed over 4.5 million acres. Of course American soldiers and the South Vietnamese were also exposed through direct contract and contaminated water, food, etc… The contamination problem continues today and American military personnel have a long well-documented struggle in their attempt to receive compensation for illnesses caused by exposure to Agent Orange. The Vietnamese soldiers and civilians have not been so fortunate. Monsanto was the main manufacturer of Agent Orange and several other companies participated including Dow Chemical. Dow also manufactured Napalm. Some have suggested that the use of Agent Orange and Napalm should be considered a war crime particularly due to its effects on civilians. My question is what was in the minds and hearts of those who came up with these chemicals to extinguish life and destroy ecosystems, then fought against compensation for the victims?
There are thousands of other cases where profit was put ahead of people causing a great deal of harm and even death. If we are dealing with people and entities that operate like Psychopaths how do we avoid being taken advantage of and harmed by them?
- First, know who you are dealing with and understand they have a vastly different agenda than you do. Become familiar with the symptoms they present. Understand you are going to have to treat them differently starting with being skeptical about their motivations and honesty, setting clear and consistent limits, and holding them accountable for their words and actions. You can do this with compassionately motivated by not allowing them to cause you or anyone else suffering. But if you appear weak they will “run you right over”.
- Second, understand that NPD and ASPD are real mental illnesses. Just because someone has high status, wealth, and seems appealing does not mean they are sane. Unfortunately our culture often rewards this illness. I will add that this type of illness does harm to many. It is the type of insanity that has put our world on the brink of nuclear annihilation and environmental collapse.
- Third, you are a human being with rights and are not here to be exploited. Learn to assert yourself and set clear guidelines about how you expect to treated.
- Finally, stop giving them power. At meetings step up and fill the void before they do. Don’t buy products from companies that act like Psychopaths. We need to change our culture so empathy, compassion, and inclusivity are rewarded instead of greed, ego, and selfishness. Empathy and compassion are strengths, not liabilities and we need to educate people as such.