Trump: described by many professionals as a malignant narcissist. Berlusconi - appears to have all the characteristics of a charismatic psychopath. Common feature - biologically based complete lack of conscience. Ditto The Russian. 'Ideological masks' - the ideologies they pretend to believe in to amass wealth and power.
I have coined a new hashtag, #MDDOS my daily dose of sanity. Thank you for continuing to be MDDOS, good medicine for sure and some of the voices we really need to hear right now, guiding us with historic perspectives, integrity and intelligence. Thank you for all that you do.
Interspersing the uber wealthy w/ those who follow them and feel they’ll be protected by say the Trump’s of the world: Maxwell, Epstein, the Royal family, Koch’s, Mercer’s, Walton’s, Falwell’s, Flynn’s; then the middle men (unqualified judges, the McCloskey’s, Kyle Rittenhouse, the island of Jersey), then the religious followers. It resembles a massive ponzu scheme for the lawless).
In line with what another reviewer said, astounding indeed. But it should be understood that corporations work in tandem with individual sociopaths as players in the creation of the nascent neo-fascist world order, both as cat’s paws of individual sociopaths, and as legally- and socially-sanctioned sociopathic Frankenstein monsters with a (death-in-) life of their own. Individual sociopaths do need to be controlled under the law as the outlaws they are; but in addition, as some people have pointed out, oil companies are obligated under the law to maximize profits, thereby destroying the planet as the habitat of living things: corporations contribute to achieving the self- destructive nihilistic goals of neo-fascism simply by obeying the canons of our legal, political, economic, and social systems. Left to its own devices, capitalism ages into fascism. This interview puts flesh on Sarah Kendzior’s characterization of the modern government as part of an international crime syndicate masquerading as a government. I must say, as a man, that I have found myself wondering why the best analysts of our neo-fascist moment seem to be women.
Interesting thought! Maybe because so many of us have experienced abuses of power as women we have a keen sense of those dynamics and where things can lead.
There is a group of beta-males who have had a snootfull of alpha males who go about the social world breaking everything they touch. We are delighted to share power with women. It's to our advantage. My wife is one. So is my sister.
To add a longitudinal society-wide aspect to your suggestion, perhaps it has something to do with the fact that it has been only in the last two or three generations that women have moved into higher positions of agency in society, and as enthusiastic newcomers eager to participate, have found themselves incredulous, looking around now that they’re actually in the game themselves, to see what a dirty game the big boys are playing.
Yes, quite possibly, neoliberal capitalism could easily be the stepping stone to fascism because fascist governments like an economic system that gives huge amounts of power to the corporate class. Fascism seems to be a corporatist's dream, especially if they use a cartel system like what was used in Germany under Hitler. Prescott Bush and Henry Ford were big fans.
Right! it wasn’t just Hitler. I just read in Thomas E. Ricks’, “Churchill & Orwell”, how Joseph Kennedy, then Ambassador to London, worked hard to protect his own interests & those of the upper class in Britain (many who were fascist sympathizers). Pushing for appeasement, he sent scathing reports to Roosevelt; false claims about the British dislike of America to try to keep us out of the war. Fortunately, the President sent Harry Hopkins to meet with Churchill to get at the truth. As Orwell often pointed out, the right and the left, along with the elite class, have a shared interest in separating us & suppressing democracy. This is our challenge.
* Thanks to Lucid for stirring my interest in trying to understand the forces around us - Great interview Ruth!
That 25% you call the unreachable "hardcore" reflect the same 25% of the world's populace Anders Lobaczewski and his colleagues determined to be sociopaths and coined the term "ponerology"---the conscience use of evil for political purposes---as their standard operating procedure. Hence the numbers that surprised you. (Of course political equates to financial with them.) Joseph H. Eusterman, MD
What a great last question you asked Ruth." Has this changed your view of human nature? I'm reminded of the quote from Dante Alighieri "Human history can't change until human nature changes". Human nature= greed and corruption.
The people funding the spread of fascism and autocracy around the world and here in America are billionaires. Jane Mayer in the New Yorker details how organizations have turned from their previous advocacy work to focus on drafting voter suppression laws and funding Trump's phony election audits like the one's Arizona and Georgia are coming from the Heritage Foundation, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the anti-regulation FreedomWorks, and the Judicial Education Project (which is tied to Leonard Leo, a chair of the Federalist Society, which has worked since the 1980s to stack the courts with originalists) These groups are bankrolled by Milwaukee’s Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, whose board member Cleta Mitchell was on Trump’s January 3, 2021, call to Georgia election officials. They're all billionaires seeking more and more impunity and protection for their great wealth.
After reading this interview, I immediately thought of Ayn Rand's influence on Greenspan and therefore Reagan and how neoliberal capitalism replaced the more society-based capitalism of the 1950's. I see neoliberal economics as a reversion back to capitalism's feudalist roots, where authoritarian minds ruled. It's a failed concept.
Astounding interview. We never could have evolved as a species without a sense of community and a sense of reciprocal altruism. As these traits decline, so does our hope of survival. We have two universal myths about the future---one says we will evolve OUT of humanity as we evolved INTO it. The other says we will destroy ourselves. I believe the odds have drifted to something more pessimistic than a coin toss.
What a good interview, thank you both for your much needed valuable insights. Without impunity a mindset of pure selfish narcissistic greed for the sake of pure narcissistic selfish greed. Frightening to me how many of these sorts are roaming around. I would also use without a conscious or for that matter consciousness of what they have done, are doing and will continue to do for the lack of any real consequences. The only thing these sorts understand because of their lack of conscious and their much lower consciousness level, obliviously, willingly, purposely unaware. I cannot help but be reminded of Boaz and the Boaz principle lessons of good stewardship, leadership or King Solomon and all the wisdom that he gave to us especially regarding wealth. Some humans never learn but thankfully their are some that do and these are the ones that will continue to fight for change, do justice, love mercy and walk humbly. So honored to be able to share in your learned perspectives. Thanks again
What a good interview, thank you both for your much needed valuable insights. Without impunity a mindset of pure selfish narcissistic greed for the sake of pure narcissistic selfish greed. Frightening to me how many of these sorts are roaming around. I would also use without a conscious or for that matter consciousness of what they have done, are doing and will continue to do for the lack of any real consequences. The only thing these sorts understand because of their lack of conscious and their much lower consciousness level, obliviously, willingly, purposely unaware. I cannot help but be reminded of Boaz and the Boaz principle lessons of good stewardship, leadership or King Solomon and all the wisdom that he gave to us especially regarding wealth. Some humans never learn but thankfully their are some that do and these are the ones that will continue to fight for change, do justice, love mercy and walk humbly. So honored to be able to share in your learned perspectives. Thanks again
This has to be one of the most interesting interviews I have come across. Ms Harrington's points regarding the proliferation of offshore accounts and their role in the rise and sustenance of right-wing tyrants seem to indicate that we neither have the motivation nor any effective means to tackle them.
Did she say anything about HOW to turn off the taps? Leaks are important and good, but then what? If no one acts on them and turns off the taps, the problem persists. Guess I'll have to read her book. Thanks for the interesting interview.
Very interesting.....I always struggled with making the the link between the rich and authoritarians. It also could explain why Trump appears to have gathered a war chest of more than 100 MM USD this year only. This makes the threat of Capital driven/supported fascism on a larger Global scale even more scary and real. Cutting off the money, which is effective in combatting it, appears to be a much bigger challenge than I thought.....
A great many folks like myself have seen this coming for a very long time, at least as long as from Reagan's administration when we had a shadow government formed during Iran-Contra. Politics has continued to slide rightward and toward fascism. I have felt as if I had had no political representation trying to stop this fascist swing. It took the Trump presidency to open people's eyes. But it's been coming for a long time. And I am really worried, more worried than I was during the late sixties.
Global corporations also begin to erode nation rights through the various trade agreements and treaties, making it difficult in some cases for a country to enact certain environmental policies without facing an appeal by some trading partner, asserting that the policies are hurting the partner financially.
I think that this supranational influence of global corporations may be another reason we are seeing a rise in authoritarian rule around the world. Or am I off chasing a wild hare?
When I lived in New Orleans, Robert Livingston -- the representative whose bid for speaker of the house was ruined by Larry Flint's outing of his extra-marital affair -- he and his wife were very gracious people, letting neighborhood children play in their yard with their children, no matter race or economic status. But Mr. Livingston lobbied hard for these off shore tax shelters that have hidden a tremendous amount of wealth from our national treasury, depriving us of the necessary funds to improve infrastructure and fund educational projects. I cannot hate these people for their views because I know many of them are basically decent. I keep hoping that somehow we all find a way back to one another, being able to reaffirm our commitment to our democracy and the 18th century liberal ideals that helped to create it.
Trump: described by many professionals as a malignant narcissist. Berlusconi - appears to have all the characteristics of a charismatic psychopath. Common feature - biologically based complete lack of conscience. Ditto The Russian. 'Ideological masks' - the ideologies they pretend to believe in to amass wealth and power.
Thank you - great sociological work by Brooke Harrington, I'll put it in my next SOC 101.
I have coined a new hashtag, #MDDOS my daily dose of sanity. Thank you for continuing to be MDDOS, good medicine for sure and some of the voices we really need to hear right now, guiding us with historic perspectives, integrity and intelligence. Thank you for all that you do.
Interspersing the uber wealthy w/ those who follow them and feel they’ll be protected by say the Trump’s of the world: Maxwell, Epstein, the Royal family, Koch’s, Mercer’s, Walton’s, Falwell’s, Flynn’s; then the middle men (unqualified judges, the McCloskey’s, Kyle Rittenhouse, the island of Jersey), then the religious followers. It resembles a massive ponzu scheme for the lawless).
In line with what another reviewer said, astounding indeed. But it should be understood that corporations work in tandem with individual sociopaths as players in the creation of the nascent neo-fascist world order, both as cat’s paws of individual sociopaths, and as legally- and socially-sanctioned sociopathic Frankenstein monsters with a (death-in-) life of their own. Individual sociopaths do need to be controlled under the law as the outlaws they are; but in addition, as some people have pointed out, oil companies are obligated under the law to maximize profits, thereby destroying the planet as the habitat of living things: corporations contribute to achieving the self- destructive nihilistic goals of neo-fascism simply by obeying the canons of our legal, political, economic, and social systems. Left to its own devices, capitalism ages into fascism. This interview puts flesh on Sarah Kendzior’s characterization of the modern government as part of an international crime syndicate masquerading as a government. I must say, as a man, that I have found myself wondering why the best analysts of our neo-fascist moment seem to be women.
Interesting thought! Maybe because so many of us have experienced abuses of power as women we have a keen sense of those dynamics and where things can lead.
There is a group of beta-males who have had a snootfull of alpha males who go about the social world breaking everything they touch. We are delighted to share power with women. It's to our advantage. My wife is one. So is my sister.
To add a longitudinal society-wide aspect to your suggestion, perhaps it has something to do with the fact that it has been only in the last two or three generations that women have moved into higher positions of agency in society, and as enthusiastic newcomers eager to participate, have found themselves incredulous, looking around now that they’re actually in the game themselves, to see what a dirty game the big boys are playing.
Yes, quite possibly, neoliberal capitalism could easily be the stepping stone to fascism because fascist governments like an economic system that gives huge amounts of power to the corporate class. Fascism seems to be a corporatist's dream, especially if they use a cartel system like what was used in Germany under Hitler. Prescott Bush and Henry Ford were big fans.
Right! it wasn’t just Hitler. I just read in Thomas E. Ricks’, “Churchill & Orwell”, how Joseph Kennedy, then Ambassador to London, worked hard to protect his own interests & those of the upper class in Britain (many who were fascist sympathizers). Pushing for appeasement, he sent scathing reports to Roosevelt; false claims about the British dislike of America to try to keep us out of the war. Fortunately, the President sent Harry Hopkins to meet with Churchill to get at the truth. As Orwell often pointed out, the right and the left, along with the elite class, have a shared interest in separating us & suppressing democracy. This is our challenge.
* Thanks to Lucid for stirring my interest in trying to understand the forces around us - Great interview Ruth!
Sorry. "conscious", NOT "conscience"
That 25% you call the unreachable "hardcore" reflect the same 25% of the world's populace Anders Lobaczewski and his colleagues determined to be sociopaths and coined the term "ponerology"---the conscience use of evil for political purposes---as their standard operating procedure. Hence the numbers that surprised you. (Of course political equates to financial with them.) Joseph H. Eusterman, MD
Our prison system is loaded with sociopaths and is estmated to be 25-30%.
What a great last question you asked Ruth." Has this changed your view of human nature? I'm reminded of the quote from Dante Alighieri "Human history can't change until human nature changes". Human nature= greed and corruption.
The people funding the spread of fascism and autocracy around the world and here in America are billionaires. Jane Mayer in the New Yorker details how organizations have turned from their previous advocacy work to focus on drafting voter suppression laws and funding Trump's phony election audits like the one's Arizona and Georgia are coming from the Heritage Foundation, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), the anti-regulation FreedomWorks, and the Judicial Education Project (which is tied to Leonard Leo, a chair of the Federalist Society, which has worked since the 1980s to stack the courts with originalists) These groups are bankrolled by Milwaukee’s Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, whose board member Cleta Mitchell was on Trump’s January 3, 2021, call to Georgia election officials. They're all billionaires seeking more and more impunity and protection for their great wealth.
Yes exactly
After reading this interview, I immediately thought of Ayn Rand's influence on Greenspan and therefore Reagan and how neoliberal capitalism replaced the more society-based capitalism of the 1950's. I see neoliberal economics as a reversion back to capitalism's feudalist roots, where authoritarian minds ruled. It's a failed concept.
Astounding interview. We never could have evolved as a species without a sense of community and a sense of reciprocal altruism. As these traits decline, so does our hope of survival. We have two universal myths about the future---one says we will evolve OUT of humanity as we evolved INTO it. The other says we will destroy ourselves. I believe the odds have drifted to something more pessimistic than a coin toss.
What a good interview, thank you both for your much needed valuable insights. Without impunity a mindset of pure selfish narcissistic greed for the sake of pure narcissistic selfish greed. Frightening to me how many of these sorts are roaming around. I would also use without a conscious or for that matter consciousness of what they have done, are doing and will continue to do for the lack of any real consequences. The only thing these sorts understand because of their lack of conscious and their much lower consciousness level, obliviously, willingly, purposely unaware. I cannot help but be reminded of Boaz and the Boaz principle lessons of good stewardship, leadership or King Solomon and all the wisdom that he gave to us especially regarding wealth. Some humans never learn but thankfully their are some that do and these are the ones that will continue to fight for change, do justice, love mercy and walk humbly. So honored to be able to share in your learned perspectives. Thanks again
Thank you, Marilyn!
What a good interview, thank you both for your much needed valuable insights. Without impunity a mindset of pure selfish narcissistic greed for the sake of pure narcissistic selfish greed. Frightening to me how many of these sorts are roaming around. I would also use without a conscious or for that matter consciousness of what they have done, are doing and will continue to do for the lack of any real consequences. The only thing these sorts understand because of their lack of conscious and their much lower consciousness level, obliviously, willingly, purposely unaware. I cannot help but be reminded of Boaz and the Boaz principle lessons of good stewardship, leadership or King Solomon and all the wisdom that he gave to us especially regarding wealth. Some humans never learn but thankfully their are some that do and these are the ones that will continue to fight for change, do justice, love mercy and walk humbly. So honored to be able to share in your learned perspectives. Thanks again
What an amazing lady Brooke Harrington is! Now I will have to read all her books. Thank you Ruth!!!
She is!
This has to be one of the most interesting interviews I have come across. Ms Harrington's points regarding the proliferation of offshore accounts and their role in the rise and sustenance of right-wing tyrants seem to indicate that we neither have the motivation nor any effective means to tackle them.
Sadly, that's the case
Did she say anything about HOW to turn off the taps? Leaks are important and good, but then what? If no one acts on them and turns off the taps, the problem persists. Guess I'll have to read her book. Thanks for the interesting interview.
Yes we have to go after their money with anti-corruption legislation (no more anonymous shell corporations, Magnitsky Acts, etc).
Very interesting.....I always struggled with making the the link between the rich and authoritarians. It also could explain why Trump appears to have gathered a war chest of more than 100 MM USD this year only. This makes the threat of Capital driven/supported fascism on a larger Global scale even more scary and real. Cutting off the money, which is effective in combatting it, appears to be a much bigger challenge than I thought.....
Yes, she makes those connections very well, one of many reasons I wanted to interview her
A great many folks like myself have seen this coming for a very long time, at least as long as from Reagan's administration when we had a shadow government formed during Iran-Contra. Politics has continued to slide rightward and toward fascism. I have felt as if I had had no political representation trying to stop this fascist swing. It took the Trump presidency to open people's eyes. But it's been coming for a long time. And I am really worried, more worried than I was during the late sixties.
Global corporations also begin to erode nation rights through the various trade agreements and treaties, making it difficult in some cases for a country to enact certain environmental policies without facing an appeal by some trading partner, asserting that the policies are hurting the partner financially.
I think that this supranational influence of global corporations may be another reason we are seeing a rise in authoritarian rule around the world. Or am I off chasing a wild hare?
Not at all, that's part of the problem.
When I lived in New Orleans, Robert Livingston -- the representative whose bid for speaker of the house was ruined by Larry Flint's outing of his extra-marital affair -- he and his wife were very gracious people, letting neighborhood children play in their yard with their children, no matter race or economic status. But Mr. Livingston lobbied hard for these off shore tax shelters that have hidden a tremendous amount of wealth from our national treasury, depriving us of the necessary funds to improve infrastructure and fund educational projects. I cannot hate these people for their views because I know many of them are basically decent. I keep hoping that somehow we all find a way back to one another, being able to reaffirm our commitment to our democracy and the 18th century liberal ideals that helped to create it.