Sociopaths Among Us

Norm links to a long post by Counago & Spaves on the subject of sociopaths, and how to recognise and deal with them.

Here's Stout's description early on in the text of the archetypal sociopath (the terms sociopath and psychopath are used interchangeably by researchers in this field):

He or she is more spontaneous, or more intense, or somehow more "complex" or sexier, or more entertaining than everyone else. Sometimes this "sociopathic charisma" is accompanied by a grandiose sense of self-worth . . .

In addition, sociopaths have a greater than normal need for stimulation, which results in their taking frequent social, physical, financial, or legal risks. Characteristically, they can charm others into attempting dangerous ventures with them, and as a group they are known for their pathological lying and conning, and their parasitic relationships with "friends."

Stout continues

. . . sociopaths are noted especially for their shallowness of emotion, the hollow and transient nature of any affectionate feelings they may claim to have, a certain breathtaking callousness. They have no trace of empathy and no genuine interest in bonding emotionally with a mate. Once the surface charm is scraped off, their marriages are loveless, one-sided and almost always short-term. If a marriage partner has any value to the sociopath, it is because the partner is viewed as a possession, one that the sociopath may feel angry to lose, but never sad or accountable.

As soon as I read this, I immediately thought "Jeffrey Archer". He's almost a textbook case.

There are further sociological considerations that require exploration, however, touched on by both Stout and Hare but largely outside the scope of their work: the way that contemporary capitalism actively encourages sociopathic behaviour through an ethos that glorifies nonconformism, as well as the danger posed to the majority of people in any hierarchically structured society when sociopaths occupy dominant positions.

I've heard this plenty of times before, how the structure of many corporations rewards sociopathic behaviour, and results in Kenneth Lays and Robert Maxwells.

Then of course, there's the political ideology that's explicitly sociopathic in nature.

Read the whole thing.