Andrew Lobaczewski - Political Ponerology - A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes

however, if he fails to develop a healthy critical faculty con-

cerning the upper limits of his own talents, his daydreams may

“fix on” an unfair world where “all you need is power”. Revo-

lutionary and radical ideas find fertile soil among such people

in downward social adaptations. It is in society’s best interests

to correct such conditions not only for better productivity, but

to avoid tragedies.

Another type of individual, on the other hand, may achieve

an important post because they belong to privileged social

groups or organizations in power while their talents and skills

are not sufficient for their duties, especially the more difficult

problems. Such persons then avoid the problematic and dedi-

cate themselves to minor matters quite ostentatiously. A com-

ponent of histrionics appears in their conduct and tests indicate

that their correctness of reasoning progressively deteriorates

after only a few years’ worth of such activities. In the face of

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SOME INDESPENSIBLE CONCEPTS

increasing pressures to perform at a level unattainable for them,

and in fear of being discovered as incompetent, they begin to

direct attacks against anyone with greater talent or skill, remov-

ing them from appropriate posts and playing an active role in

degrading their social and professional adjustment. This, of

course, engenders a feeling of injustice and can lead to the

problems of the downwardly adapted individual as described

above. Upwardly-adjusted people thus favor whip-cracking,

totalitarian governments which would protect their positions.

Upward and downward social adjustments, as well the

qualitatively improper ones, result in a waste of any society’s

basic capital, namely the talent pool of its members. This si-

multaneously leads to increasing dissatisfaction and tensions

among individuals and social groups; any attempt to approach

human talent and its productivity problematics as a purely pri-

vate matter must therefore be considered dangerously naive.

Development or involution in all areas of cultural, economic

and political life depend on the extent to which this talent pool

is properly utilized. In the final analysis, it also determines

whether there will be evolution or revolution.

Technically speaking, it would be easier to construct appro-

priate methods that enable us to evaluate the correlations be-

tween individual talents and social adjustment in a given coun-

try, than to deal with the prior proposition of the development

of psychological concepts. Conducting the proper tests would

furnish us a valuable index that we might call “the social order

indicator.” The closer the figure to +1.0, the more likely the

country in question would be to fulfill that basic precondition

for social order and take the proper path in the direction of

dynamic development. A low correlation would be an indica-

tion that social reform is needed. A near-zero or even negative

correlation should be interpreted as a danger-sign that revolu-

tion is imminent. Revolutions in one country often cause mani-

fold problems for other countries, so it is in the best interests of

all countries to monitor such conditions.

The examples adduced above do not exhaust the question of

causative factors influencing the creation of a social structure

which would adequately correspond to the laws of nature. Our

species-instinct level has already encoded the intuition that the

POLITICAL PONEROLOGY

77

existence of society’s internal structure, based on psychologi-

cal variations , is necessary; it continues to develop alongside

our basic intelligence, inspiring our healthy common sense.

This explains why the most numerous part of populations,

whose talents are near average, generally accepts its modest

social position in any country as long as the position fulfills the

indispensable requirements of proper social adjustment and

guarantees an equitable way of life no matter at what level of

society the individual finds their proper fit.

This average majority accepts and respects the social role of

people whose talents and education are superior, as long as

they occupy appropriate positions within the social structure.

The same people, however, will react with criticism, disrespect,

and even contempt, whenever someone as average as them-

selves compensates for his deficiencies by flaunting an up-

wardly-adjusted position. The judgments pronounced by this

sphere of average but sensible people can often be highly accu-

rate, which can and should be all the more remarkable if we

take into account that said people could not possibly have had

sufficient knowledge of many of the actual problems, be they

scientific, technical, or economic.21

An experienced politician can rarely assume that the diffi-

culties in the areas of economics, defense, or international pol-

icy will be fully understand by his constituency. However, he

can and should assume that his own comprehension of human

matters, and anything having to do with interpersonal relations

within said structure, will find an echo in this same majority of

his society’s members. These facts partially justify the idea of

democracy, especially if a particular country has historically

had such a tradition, the social structure is well developed, and

the level of education is adequate. Nevertheless, they do not

represent psychological data sufficient to raise democracy to

the level of a moral criterion in politics. A democracy com-

posed of individuals of inadequate psychological knowledge

can only devolve.

21 Very often false opinion polls are used to attempt to manipulate a society’s

perception of its officials. This never works for very long as, eventually,

incompetence is revealed to all. [Editor’s note.]

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SOME INDESPENSIBLE CONCEPTS

The same politician should be conscious of the fact that so-

ciety contains people who already carry the psychological re-

sults of social maladjustment. Some of these individuals at-

tempt to protect positions for which their skills are not com-

mensurate, while others fight to be allowed to use their talents.

Governing a country becomes increasingly difficult when such

battles begin to eclipse other important needs. That is why the

creation of a fair social structure continues to be a basic pre-

condition for social order and the liberation of creative values.

It also explains why the propriety and productivity of a struc-

ture-creation process constitute a criterion for a good political

system.

Politicians should also be aware that in each society there

are people whose basic intelligence, natural psychological

world view, and moral reasoning have developed improperly.

Some of these persons contain the cause within themselves,

others were subjected to psychologically abnormal people as

children. Such individuals’ comprehension of social and moral

questions is different, both from the natural and from the objec-

tive viewpoint; they constitute a destructive factor for the de-

velopment of society’s psychological concepts, social structure,

and internal bonds.

At the same time, such people easily interpenetrate the so-

cial structure with a ramified22 network of mutual pathological

conspiracies poorly connected to the main social structure.