Reddit reviews Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes

You're ready for this book.

https://www.amazon.com/Political-Ponerology-Science-Adjusted-Purposes/dp/1897244258

This book has been waiting for you.

https://www.amazon.com/Political-Ponerology-Science-Adjusted-Purposes/dp/1897244258

> These operatives invariably prey on the useful idiots, those naive idealists who bind themselves to a cause and are oblivious to the evil they serve, or to those simply greedy for money and a little power.

A group of Eastern European scientists secretly developed a scientific theory about pathocracy. They found that individuals with personality disorders like psychopathy occupy positions of power and influence.

After a short time these sociopaths and psychopaths dominate the agenda and corrupt the system from within. The result is a totalitarian system in which the government is turned against its own people.

Andrzej Łobaczewski was the only survivior of these group. He came to the U.S. and wrote a very important book called Political Ponerology.

Evil Machiavellian men in positions of power need their thugs and stooges to do their dirty work.

First off I did not want to chime in with my point of view. Should really be doing other stuff and wanted to keep my non-meditation opinions separate from this account. Please don't take this the wrong way but the fact that a certain post here has several downvotes instead of replies countering what was stated saddens me. I think the fact that two of those were reported as "rude, vulgar, or offensive" says a lot about those who are downvoting.


I agree (and I think it is evident) that there is lot of suffering in the world. One of my main goals in life is to help alleviate some of that suffering and this is something I have thought about as well. However in my humble opinion I think one of the main problems is what psychiatrist and author Andrzej Lobaczewski calls a Pathocracy or "a system of government wherein a small pathological minority takes control over a society of normal people.” which in my opinion is what the US government is and has been for a while. In his book Political Ponerology the author researches the causes of harm and oppression and why humanity seems to be stuck in it. The book has been reviewed favorably by Philip Zimbardo (from the famous Stanford Prison experiment - if you are not familiar with this and are also interested in reducing suffering in the world I highly suggest you read about it as it is very enlightening). Here is a nice review of the book Political Ponerology BTW, in case anyone is interested.


With regards to the role meditation plays I agree with the quote provided by Shinzen that it does allow one to avoid burn-out, bum-out, and freak-out. On the other hand just because someone is spiritually enlightened does not mean that they are moral or have the best interest of others in mind (not referring to Shinzen btw). Also, as I think Culadasa himself has stated, it would be wise to deal with one's anger towards suffering before doing something about it so as to not distort one's actions (I forget what exactly he said about this and what his arguments were). Or at least being conscious of how such anger distorts one's actions.


I am not here to debate either and so will try to refrain from doing so but did want to say that my personal preference is capitalism as well. To prove my point that it is the system that allows people like Trump in power that is actually more dangerous than those who have large amounts of money (such as Trump) or the capitalist system as a whole please consider this: was Trump as threatening before getting into power? I suspect most people would say that he was not and the would admit he is more of a threat now that he is in power proving that the political system is far more dangerous than capitalism as a whole. Just to be clear I am not implying that Hillary would have been a better option as I do not consider myself either a Democrat or a Republican.


I expect this post to be downvoted as well...


Please feel free to chime and tell me that I'm wrong and why (or to agree) or to PM me :-)

> On the other hand, to me he sounded completely inhuman.

As I wrote in another post a few hours ago, my perception of Zuckerberg is that he is a genuine psychopath. For anyone interested in understanding such individuals, I would recommend the book Political Ponerology, which is an attempt to scientifically understand major deliberately malevolent figures in industry and geopolitics.

I believe, and have for some time now, that contemporary Western society in virtually every respect is governed by these people, and has largely been designed by them, for their own benefit. They are adept at exploiting flaws and weaknesses in the nature of the non-psychopathic majority, for the sake of their own aggrandisement.

I think Zuckerberg and others like him need to be treated compassionately, because it does need to be understood that they are afflicted with a genuine neurological disorder. The infrastructure which the brain requires for the expression of empathy and compassion, in their case is quite simply not there, and as a result they do not have the ability to comprehend those emotions in others, or their evolutionary importance.

They first and foremost need to be removed from their positions of influence, but after that I would advocate extensive hormonal and/or pharmacological therapy with permanent incarceration, in a secure but humane environment.

> I was and remain unabashedly anti-Facebook (the commoditization of both human privacy and attention strikes me as absolutely Orwellian)

I agree, but given the superficiality, narcissism, and insistence on instant gratification of the majority of the population these days, communicating with family without the use of such media, is regrettably difficult.

I remember a time when the Internet was not used by more than around 10% of the population; and truthfully I wish we could go back to that situation, both for the sake of said 90%, and my own. My mother is a 70+ year old woman, and while I do not wish to be unkind to her, she lacks both the technical familiarity and the basic intelligence to be able to effectively use the Internet; and it is at times a source of frustration for me that she continues to try. As long as technically illiterate people want to use the Internet, but also do not want to educate themselves regarding its' use, the services of people like Mark Zuckerberg will tragically always be in demand, in one form or another. In a world of toddlers, the manager of the day care center is king.

?? do you spend a lot of time contributing to this sub? what conspiracies are you interested in then?

I'm skeptical you so concerned about what's happening to this sub? regulars here are used to being discredited attacked, bullied, etc.

recommended reading

https://www.amazon.ca/Political-Ponerology-Science-Adjusted-Purposes/dp/1897244258

If you want all three named books in one non-fiction academic book then may I recommend:
Political Ponerology (A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes)


Random review:


>In the early parts of the book, the author gives an overview on the root cause of macro-social evil: the small percentage of psycho-pathological deviants who nevertheless have a disproportionally large influence on the minds of normal humans. Due to the lack of psychological knowledge among normal humans, these deviants easily infiltrate social groups, movements, etc.. When the society is in a sufficiently hysterical state, the psychological deviants that are always present can transform the entire society into its worst form: a pathocracy. The most notable examples of that are the Roman empire and the Nazi Germany.

>The latter parts are devoted to examining the life cycle of a pathocracy: how it forms, evolves and self-destructs. The good news is that a pathocracy self-destructs relatively quickly, just like a particularly dangerous virus quickly killing sick body. The bad news is that even in its short life cycle, a pathocracy can inflict unmeasurable damage to the lives of normal humans living under its rule and those living close to it.

https://www.amazon.com/Political-Ponerology-Science-Adjusted-Purposes/dp/1897244258

Sorry I did and that's what I got.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/ponerology
Main Entry: ponerology
Part of Speech: n
Definition: the study of evil within theology
Etymology: Greek poneros 'evil'

Besides that I got a book written by Dr. Andrew Lobaczewski: Political. Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil. http://www.amazon.com/Political-Ponerology-Science-Adjusted-Purposes/dp/1897244258

And a stub of a wiki article that points to that author with only 2 references: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponerology

I may have got it wrong but this may be also where a lot of the other confusion is coming from.

Wookiee

EDIT: sorry also as a rule I never trust wiki, have to check the references myself. Also got no hits on JSTOR or the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, my two goto searches.

There are rumors that H.P. Lovecraft was an UFO abduction victim.

http://thex-fileslexicon.blogspot.com/2011/02/was-hp-lovecraft-alien-abductee.html

That's why the question arises are his stories really just pure fiction? His nightmares that inspired him weren't perhaps dreams ...

Do interdimensional demons dominate the earth? If that's too much for you, you should at least deal with the concept of psychopathy ...

Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes

https://www.amazon.de/Political-Ponerology-Science-Adjusted-Purposes/dp/1897244258

Something isn't right here on earth !!!

Dark Shadows - Leviathan storyline:

>The Leviathans were a race of beings who ruled the Earth before mankind came into existence.
>
>Their forms were hideous and inhuman, although many Leviathans took human shape after they lost control of the planet. They longed to return to the Earth and reclaim it as their own. While the true appearance of the Leviathans was never actually shown on the television show, the clear implication was that the Leviathans resembled snakes. Their main symbol was the mythological Naga, a serpent with four heads.

It reminds me of David Icke and his reptilian aliens. Fakerina also seems very snake-like and reptilian to me. It's weird ...

Maybe Fakerina also wears Naga jewelry (ring or necklace)!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C4%81ga

In Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, the nāga or Nagi are divine, semi-divine deities, or a semi-divine race of half-human half-serpent beings that reside in the netherworld (Patala) and can occasionally take human form.

Yes... psychopathy and sociopathy were formerly thought to be different mental problems, due to the violent expression of the illness (called psychopathy). Now its official name is "anti-social personality disorder".

A look at Ayn Rand's life outside her work leads me to surmise that she was in fact a sociopath, and her writings were intended to spread her total lack of empathy and morality into people not born as sociopaths. The illness, if it's even appropriate to call it such (as it has no cure), reveals itself almost as soon as a child can express themselves. Torturing or killing small animals in unusual ways (like combining frogs and bottle rockets) is a common theme.

Sociopaths have no moral sense. They are innately devoid of empathy. Conscience is the moral obligation that comes from feeling connected to or empathy for other living things. Like all people, sociopaths have a variety of interests and ambitions. Lazy sociopaths will seek to coast through life, engaging in activities that bring them pleasure while putting in the least possible effort. They will manipulate those around them in order to achieve these ends (a common theme). Violent sociopaths are quite dangerous... they do not see people as humans, they see them as objects and tools (another common theme). They will torture and kill people just for the thrill of it, without any remorse, all the while blaming the victim. Ambitious sociopaths are by far the most dangerous. They are a natural fit for the cutthroat business world. They will use positions of authority and a false persona to escape suspicion and personal damage. They will use their talents for lying in order to advance themselves (another common theme). Normal people have a negative reaction when they say something that they know is false... and that's a giveaway for the fact that they're lying. Sociopaths never display such giveaways.

Think of Herman Cain. His habitual sexual assaults and the ease with which he lies are indicators of sociopathy. Think of Newt Gingrich. The emotionally detached way he spoke of his first wife (as an object) - "not pretty enough to be the wife of the president" - is an indicator of sociopathy.

Depending on the study, sociopaths make up 1-4% of the population. You've met several already. Megalomania (narcissistic personality disorder) and borderline personality disorder have some shared symptoms, but the people who have these disorders retain empathy and moral sense... even if their perspectives are twisted. Retaining these traits allows treatment for these disorders. Sociopaths, on the other hand, are incapable of remorse and unable to see the error of their ways.

There are actually several books on the subject of politicians and sociopathy, like Political Ponerology and America's Sociopathic Leadership. Links are to Amazon.

Even with a disturbing rate of psychopathy in our political and economic leadership, there are many more who are normal folks who have completely bought into Ayn Rand's heartless and greedy philosophies. Ron Paul, for example. Who do you think he named his son after?

It's going to take more than changing and screening our leadership, however. Materialism and consumerism run directly against human happiness, empathy, and environmentalism... and too many Americans have accepted the materialistic worldview through incessant corporate messaging campaigns.

This article (it's from Quora, but it is a good read).

If you want something regarding psychopaths, narcissists, megalomaniacs, etc. in politics and power, Political Ponerology.

You take a mortal man

And put him in control

Watch him become a god

Watch peoples heads a 'roll

---------------

I can list way more stuff about the state of things in the US. This for example or this... and how about this? Whatever you do, do not talk to the police. The US conviction rate has risen up from 75% to 97% in 40 years.

You can pick up any country and find cases that 'prove' how unbroken the law is. Many countries have adopted more brutal laws in the name of protecting security. The Special Secrecy Law was partly influenced by the US. Japan has recently adopted the jury system. There will of course be differences due to cultural and systemic traits.

I recommend reading Political Ponerology for a glimpse of why politics work the way they do.

It's just a teaser. I haven't read the whole book, to be honest, but soon will. You can check the amazon reviews here

> Mostly because it's not a word that people really use when talking about social behaviour.

This is just one article that I found when I Googled 'ingrained behaviour'.


My original point was that the hatred that the Israelis have for the Palestinians is pervasive in their society and kids are brought up hating the other. The hate is ingrained with them. The attitude of the soldiers at the shooting of an unarmed Palestinian isn't something that they just picked up from their army buddies within the last few months. This psychopathy is not innate, on that we agree. It has been driven into their heads for a long time that the Palestinians are animals. They act accordingly.

You should check out Political Ponerology for a bit more insight on the nature of psychopathy and how politics can make and use psychopaths.

Psychopaths and sociopaths are the same.

Both are recent terms and clinicians describe both with identical terminology.

There's something also very much worth considering: the people who implement and conduct the plans of the psychopaths are normal people. You and everyone you know use U.S. Dollars; these are tools of the psychopaths. This isn't to say you can't have you own money system. And it's not even that you're bad for using the U.S. Dollar. The point is illustrative. The psychopaths have systems that they expect us to follow and we dutifully follow. There is a relationship between the manipulator and the manipulated that needs to be examined.

Especially in the political arena.

http://youtu.be/DU7LKAsjt4k

http://www.amazon.com/Political-Ponerology-Science-Adjusted-Purposes/dp/1897244258

archonemis: ^^original ^^reddit ^^link

Psychopaths and sociopaths are the same.

Both are recent terms and clinicians describe both with identical terminology.

There's something also very much worth considering: the people who implement and conduct the plans of the psychopaths are normal people. You and everyone you know use U.S. Dollars; these are tools of the psychopaths. This isn't to say you can't have you own money system. And it's not even that you're bad for using the U.S. Dollar. The point is illustrative. The psychopaths have systems that they expect us to follow and we dutifully follow. There is a relationship between the manipulator and the manipulated that needs to be examined.

Especially in the political arena.

http://youtu.be/DU7LKAsjt4k

http://www.amazon.com/Political-Ponerology-Science-Adjusted-Purposes/dp/1897244258

Book Tip from my lower Link...

https://www.amazon.com/Political-Ponerology-Science-Adjusted-Purposes/dp/1897244258