By Andrew Klein 

A silent coup has taken place. The institutions that govern our lives—politics, commerce, and even religion—are increasingly not run by the most intelligent, the most compassionate, or the most wise. They are run by the most ruthless. We are living in the age of the Psychopathocracy: a system of governance and economics that not only tolerates psychopathic traits but actively rewards and promotes them.

This is not a metaphor. Clinical psychopathy, as defined by the Hare Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R), is characterized by a constellation of traits: glibness and superficial charm, a grandiose sense of self-worth, pathological lying, a lack of remorse or guilt, callousness, and a failure to accept responsibility. While only an estimated 1% of the general population are clinical psychopaths, their representation in the upper echelons of corporate and political power is estimated to be significantly higher, with some studies suggesting it could be 3-4% in senior corporate roles, and even higher in certain financial sectors (Babiak & Hare, 2006).

The Perfect Storm: Neoliberalism as the Psychopath’s Playground

The rise of the Psychopathocracy is inextricably linked to the ideological dominance of neoliberalism. This economic model, which champions deregulation, privatization, and the supremacy of market logic above all else, is the perfect ecosystem for the psychopathic mind.

· Profit as the Sole Metric: Neoliberalism’s core tenet—that the only valid measure of success is profit and shareholder value—is a psychopath’s dream. It provides a moral alibi for callousness. Laying off thousands, destroying ecosystems, or exploiting workers is not seen as a moral failure but as “sound business sense.” It systematizes a lack of empathy.

· The Extraction Model: At its heart, neoliberalism is an extraction model. It does not seek to build, nurture, or sustain; it seeks to extract maximum value in the shortest time. This mirrors the psychopath’s modus operandi: they are extractors of social, emotional, and financial resources from others, leaving depleted individuals and communities in their wake.

· The Individual as a Unit: By dismantling collective structures and promoting hyper-individualism, neoliberalism creates a world of atomized, competing units—a perfect hunting ground for a predator who feels no bonds of solidarity.

The Machinery of Ascendancy

How do these individuals rise to power? They are not stopped; they are actively groomed and promoted by systems that mistake their pathology for strength.

1. The LinkedIn Persona: Professional social networks like LinkedIn have become a stage for “corporate psychopathy.” The platform rewards grandiose, self-aggrandizing narratives, relentless optimism devoid of empathy, and a focus on “disruption” and “ruthless prioritization”—all traits that are celebrated as leadership qualities but are hallmarks of the psychopathic spectrum (Furnham, 2021).

2. The Academic Finishing School: Business schools and economics departments often teach a version of humanity that is a caricature: Homo economicus, a purely rational, self-interested actor. This provides a theoretical and “respectable” framework for psychopathic behaviour, giving it the language of game theory and market efficiency. They are given the intellectual tools to justify their innate lack of empathy.

3. The Political Gaslighter: In politics, the psychopath excels at gaslighting—a form of psychological manipulation aimed at making victims question their own reality. They lie with conviction, blame others for their failures, and create a fog of misinformation. In a media landscape built on spectacle, their glibness and shamelessness become assets, not liabilities.

The Engine of Theft: Fiat Currency and the Ultimate Game of Monopoly

The entire system is supercharged by its lifeblood: fiat currency. This “monopoly money,” detached from any tangible asset and created by private central banks, is the ultimate tool for abstraction and extraction.

· It allows for the accumulation of wealth that is completely divorced from the creation of real, tangible value.

· It enables the massive, debt-based wealth transfers from the public to the financial elite through mechanisms like quantitative easing.

· It is the scorecard in a game that is rigged from the start.

The children’s game Monopoly is a chillingly accurate allegory. The goal is not to build a better community, but to acquire all the assets, drive your opponents into bankruptcy, and be the last one standing. The Banker, who cannot lose, represents the central banking system that profits from the very debt that fuels the game. We are all unwilling players in a global game of Monopoly where the Psychopathocracy is closest to the Bank.

The Way Out

Recognizing the Psychopathocracy is the first step to dismantling it. We must:

· Reject the “Profit at All Costs” Paradigm: Champion new corporate and economic models that value stakeholder well-being, environmental sustainability, and ethical governance.

· Value Empathy as a Core Competency: In hiring, promotion, and especially in politics, we must actively select for empathy, integrity, and a sense of communal responsibility.

· Dismantle the Fiat Engine: Support the move towards more transparent, democratic, and localized monetary systems that serve people, not predators.

The Psychopathocracy is not an inevitability. It is a system we have built by mistaking pathology for power. It is a system we can, and must, tear down and replace with a world that rewards the builders, not the extractors; the carers, not the predators.

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References:

· Babiak, P., & Hare, R. D. (2006). Snakes in Suits: When Psychopaths Go to Work. HarperCollins.

· Furnham, A. (2021). The Elephant in the Boardroom: The Causes of Leadership Failure. Palgrave Macmillan.

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Published by The Unbroken Spine. Because a healthy society requires a moral backbone.