Definition of Pathocracy from Enpsychopedia: (from Greek pathos, "feeling, pain, suffering"; and kratos, "rule")
A pathocracy is a totalitarian form of government in which absolute political power is held by a psychopathic elite, and their effect on the people is such that the entire society is ruled and motivated by purely pathological values.
A pathocracy can take many forms and can insinuate itself covertly into any seemingly just system or ideology. As such it can masquerade under the guise of a democracy or theocracy as well as more openly oppressive regimes.
The term pathocracy was created by Polish psychologist Dr. Andrzej M. Łobaczewski as a result of his study of ponerology. The word reflects Lobaczewski's treatment of the phenomenon as something analogous to a disease or pathology, on a macrosocial level.
Characteristics
- Suppression of individualism and creativity.
- Impoverishment of artistic values.
- Impoverishment of moral values; a social structure based on self-interest and one-upmanship, rather than altruism.
- Fanatical ideology; often a corrupted form of a valid viable 'trojan' ideology which is perverted into a pathological form, bearing little resemblance to the substance of the original.
- Intolerance and suspicion of anyone who is different, or who disagrees with the state.
- Centralized control
- Corruption
- Secret activities within government, but surveillance of the general population. (In contrast, a healthy society would have transparent government processes, and respect for privacy of the individual citizen).
- Paranoid and reactionary government.
- Excessive, arbitrary, unfair and inflexible legislation; the power of decision making is reduced/removed from the citizens' everyday lives.
- An attitude of hypocrisy and contempt demonstrated by the actions of the ruling class, towards the ideals they claim to follow, and towards the citizens they claim to represent.
- Controlled media, dominated by propaganda.
- Extreme inequality between the richest and poorest.
- Endemic use of corrupted psychological reasoning such as paramoralisms, conversive thinking and doubletalk.
- Rule by force and/or fear of force.
- People are considered as a 'resource' to be exploited (hence the term "human resources"), rather than as individuals with intrinsic human worth.
- Spiritual life is restricted to inflexible and indoctrinare schemes. Anyone attempting to go beyond these boundaries is considered a heretic or insane, and therefore dangerous.
- Arbitrary divisions in the population (class, ethnicity, creed) are inflamed into conflict with one another.
- Suppression of free speech - public debate, demonstration, protest.
- Violation of basic human rights, for example: restriction or denial of basic life necessities such as food, water, shelter; detainment without charge; torture and abuse; slave labour.
Further research:
- The book by Andrew M. Lobaczewski that coined the term pathocracy: Political Ponerology.
- Diagnosis: Pathocracy Cure: Commonwealth
- The Pathocracy Blog
- How Societies Regress to Become Pathocracies
- Pathocracy: Tyranny at the Hand of Psychopaths
