LOL. Sorry I wasn't pointing fingers or saying ALL high level managers etc. are "psycho's"! You suggested "tribalism" was a fundamental issue whereas I suggest that is a burned in firmware and the deeper problem is with you bloody humans more generally. Lit. too clever for your own good.Potter wrote: ↑Tue Mar 22, 2022 9:39 amI'm not sure I'm qualified to argue a point on this with any strength.Screwdriver wrote: ↑Tue Mar 22, 2022 9:15 am I think the problem is more to do with the fundamental psychology of individuals. Why for example are vastly more psychopaths prevalent in positions of authority or running large corporations than in society at large? I suggest it is because their behaviours are rewarded and they are more successful than weaker more empathic people.
It's obvious to me that individuals that are not keen to conform to the group psychology are more likely to end up leading the group, but is that psychopathic? You can argue it is because they're fighting against the group psychology (i.e. going against the group social conformist behaviour), but I don't think it's what most people mean when they use the term psychopath.
If I'm a psychopath because I don't follow normal group behaviour then I'm ok with it, although I'm not sure I'd agree that I have a chronic mental disorder...well not one that's worse than the average human being.
There are what, 7 billion individuals on this planet?? Very, very few actually get to wield any sort of power** and there is a suspiciously high proportion of those who display typical psychopathic traits (compared to the general population). They happen to be very good at what they do but unfortunately "what they do" nominally for the benefit of all those billions of others is never for the greater good. They just don't have it in them.
I submit that to be successful, it helps to be ruthless, single minded and selfish. It's more of a statistical broad brush generalisation. There are good people out there, there are sensitive, empathetic types who can become successful for any number of positive reasons.
An interesting study I read recently suggests that in a group test of individuals (one of them sneaky ones that claims to be testing one thing but is actually looking at another) found that liars and cheats are FAR more likely to seek a career in politics/civil service. They crave that power...
**Power. Hmm. Money. They are joined at the hip like space and time, maybe we should just call it "Moneypower". It is a single thing. I think some people crave it whereas others perform their chosen task because they love that task and the money is a spinoff. Others have to perform some more menial task they hate because they have to in order to survive, not because they crave moneypower.
Meanwhile our (Western) society has become obsessed with moneypower, insisting that to enjoy life you must consume! Buy the latest doodad, wear the latest fashion, drive a better car. This is all being driven by those in power because without a consumer to drive their economies, they can't acquire the thing they most desire: moneypower.
