>I don't really
>see the usefulness of calling a society narcissistic or psychotic;
>these are just rhetorical devices that have persuasive appeal if
>you're enthusiastic about psychodynamic theory. I don't see how
>they contribute much to our actual understanding of social
>relations and the perpetuation of social inequality.
>
>Miles
>
I take the notion that "society is nuts" quite literally. Mental illness is primarily a function of societies, while individuals merely focus and magnify these disturbances. This entails the existence of collective mentality. I look at it this way: If mentality can exist in conjunction with a single brain (an impossibility!) then it can exist in conjunction with a thousand brains. The only difference between individual minds and group minds is that individuals are conscious. The group mind can't engage in self-reflection. That's why "the mob" is far more likely to engage in disturbed behavior than individuals, including the individuals who comprise the mob. This is what happened at MyLai. The soldiers of Task Force Barker were otherwise normal people who got caught up in a group-based mental disorder.
Chris Burford wrote that certain sensitive people can manifest disorders that arise from the social matrix. Despair and anxiety are in the emotional atmosphere, and some people pick them up and magnify them while others are mercifully spared. The same is also true of malignant emotions. For the United States to function as an effective imperialist power, we need people like Henry Kissinger to embody our desire to kill and to dominate. We need "morally strong" people like him to lead us forward into conquest. We need leaders like Nixon and Reagan and Clinton. The relatively sane ones like Ford and Carter and Bush don't go on to win a second term. (Look at Bush. The guy just doesn't have that evil glint in his eyes.)
An effective corporation needs to find someone with a disturbed ego to make the harsh decisions without any hint of shame. That's why CEO's make so much money. There aren't that many people diagnosable with Narcissistic or Antisocial or Schizoid Personality Disorder. But the antisocial CEO, like Charles Hurwitz, is merely grounding a group-based disorder. Hurwitz is a lightning rod for the disturbed cognition prevelant at Maxxam or any other predatory corporation. (And of course not every CEO is certifiable.)
Most people who work for corporations are as moral as anyone else when it comes to their own personal lives. But once they enter into the malignant atmosphere of the corporation, they get swept up in a collective form of Antisocial Personality Disorder. Here are the diagnostic criteria, as listed in the DSM-IV:
1: failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest *Or a slap on the wrist if you're a corporation.*
2: deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure *We all know about perpetual corporate dishonesty in its many forms, but the use of aliases is also very significant. The whole point of incorporating is to limit liability. Executives hide behind the alias of "Exxon" or "ADM" in order to avoid personal responsibility.*
3: impulsivity or failure to plan ahead *Aside from their environmental recklessness, which threatens the continued viability of modern civilization, corporations impulsively consume one another and get themselves ridiculously indebted without any consideration of how they're going to deal with their debt down the road.*
4: irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults *For corporations this takes the form of legal action. An assault would take the form of a SLAPP lawsuit to silence social opponents.*
5: reckless disregard for safety of self or others *This includes not only victims of toxic pollution and defective products but often even the blue collar workers employed by the corporation itself.*
6: consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations *What this boils down to is an unwillingness to take care of dependents. GM makes cars in Flint for 50 years and doesn't think twice about abandoning it for Mexico at the first opportunity.*
7: lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another *The golden rule of the corporation is to never admit wrongdoing.*
It's not just the profit motive that makes corporations so dangerous. We're dealing with a collective, mental pathology. People with personality disorders are notorious for their inflexibility. You cannot reason with them or get them to admit wrongdoing or voluntarily change their ways. This is important. Liberals, such as the NGO's currently trying to get a seat at the table at the WTO, like to believe they can work with corporate reps and get them to see the light, so we can all join hands and work together to make this a better world. They're trying to find a spark of enlightenment in the heart of darkness. It'll never work. The only remedy for antisocialism is socialism.
--Ted