still operating with certain beliefs firmly in place that were
shattered by my research into psychopathy. I realized that there
was a certain set of ideas that I held about human beings that
were sacrosanct – and false. I even wrote about this once in the
following way:
…my work has shown me that the vast majority of people
want to do good, to experience good things, think good
thoughts, and make decisions with good results. And they try
with all their might to do so! With the majority of people hav-
ing this internal desire, why the Hell isn't it happening?
I was naïve, I admit. There were many things I did not know
that I have learned since I penned those words. But even at that
time I was aware of how our own minds can be used to deceive
us.
Now, what beliefs did I hold that made me a victim of a
psychopath? The first and most obvious one is that I truly be-
lieved that deep inside, all people are basically “good” and that
they “want to do good, to experience good things, think good
thoughts, and make decisions with good results. And they try
with all their might to do so….”
As it happens, this is not true as I - and everyone involved
in our research group - learned to our sorrow, as they say. But
we also learned to our edification. In order to come to some
understanding of exactly what kind of human being could do
the things that were done to me (and others close to me), and
why they might be motivated - even driven - to behave this
way, we began to research the psychology literature for clues
because we needed to understand for our own peace of mind.
1 I have never received any academic degrees, so I am not a “professional”, in
that respect.
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EDITOR’S PREFACE
If there is a psychological theory that can explain vicious
and harmful behavior, it helps very much for the victim of such
acts to have this information so that they do not have to spend
all their time feeling hurt or angry. And certainly, if there is a
psychological theory that helps a person to find what kind of
words or deeds can bridge the chasm between people, to heal
misunderstandings, that is also a worthy goal. It was from such
a perspective that we began our extensive work on the subjects
of narcissism, which then led to the study of psychopathy.
Of course, we didn’t start out with such any such “diagno-
sis” or label for what we were witnessing. We started out with
observations and searched the literature for clues, for profiles,
for anything that would help us to understand the inner world
of a human being - actually a group of human beings - who
seemed to be utterly depraved and unlike anything we had ever
encountered before. We found that this kind of human is all too
common, and that, according to some of the latest research,
they cause more damage in human society than any other sin-
gle so-called “mental illness”. Martha Stout, who has worked
extensively with victims of psychopaths, writes:
Imagine - if you can - not having a conscience, none at all,
no feelings of guilt or remorse no matter what you do, no lim-
iting sense of concern for the well-being of strangers, friends,
or even family members. Imagine no struggles with shame,
not a single one in your whole life, no matter what kind of
selfish, lazy, harmful, or immoral action you had taken.
And pretend that the concept of responsibility is unknown
to you, except as a burden others seem to accept without ques-
tion, like gullible fool.
Now add to this strange fantasy the ability to conceal from
other people that your psychological makeup is radically dif-
ferent from theirs. Since everyone simply assumes that con-
science is universal among human beings, hiding the fact that
you are conscience-free is nearly effortless.
You are not held back from any of your desires by guilt or
shame, and you are never confronted by others for your cold-
bloodedness. The ice water in your veins is so bizarre, so
completely outside of their personal experience, that they sel-
dom even guess at your condition.
POLITICAL PONEROLOGY
13
In other words, you are completely free of internal re-
straints, and your unhampered liberty to do just as you please,
with no pangs of conscience, is conveniently invisible to the
world.
You can do anything at all, and still your strange advan-
tage over the majority of people, who are kept in line by their
consciences will most likely remain undiscovered.
How will you live your life?
What will you do with your huge and secret advantage,
and with the corresponding handicap of other people (con-
science)?
The answer will depend largely on just what your desires
happen to be, because people are not all the same. Even the
profoundly unscrupulous are not all the same. Some people -
whether they have a conscience or not - favor the ease of iner-
tia, while others are filled with dreams and wild ambitions.
Some human beings are brilliant and talented, some are dull-
witted, and most, conscience or not, are somewhere in be-
tween. There are violent people and nonviolent ones, indi-
viduals who are motivated by blood lust and those who have
no such appetites. [...]
Provided you are not forcibly stopped, you can do any-
thing at all.
If you are born at the right time, with some access to fam-
ily fortune, and you have a special talent for whipping up
other people's hatred and sense of deprivation, you can arrange
to kill large numbers of unsuspecting people. With enough
money, you can accomplish this from far away, and you can
sit back safely and watch in satisfaction. [...]
Crazy and frightening - and real, in about 4 percent of the
population....
The prevalence rate for anorexic eating disorders is esti-
mated a 3.43 percent, deemed to be nearly epidemic, and yet
this figure is a fraction lower than the rate for antisocial per-
sonality. The high-profile disorders classed as schizophrenia
occur in only about 1 percent of [the population] - a mere
quarter of the rate of antisocial personality - and the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention say that the rate of colon
cancer in the United States, considered “alarmingly high,” is
14
EDITOR’S PREFACE
about 40 per 100,000 - one hundred times lower than the rate
of antisocial personality.
The high incidence of sociopathy in human society has a
profound effect on the rest of us who must live on this planet,
too, even those of us who have not been clinically trauma-
tized. The individuals who constitute this 4 percent drain our
relationships, our bank accounts, our accomplishments, our
self-esteem, our very peace on earth.
Yet surprisingly, many people know nothing about this
disorder, or if they do, they think only in terms of violent psy-
chopathy - murderers, serial killers, mass murderers - people
who have conspicuously broken the law many times over, and
who, if caught, will be imprisoned, maybe even put to death
by our legal system.
We are not commonly aware of, nor do we usually iden-
tify, the larger number of nonviolent sociopaths among us,
people who often are not blatant lawbreakers, and against
whom our formal legal system provides little defense.
Most of us would not imagine any correspondence be-