Montague Ullman, M, D.
In psychiatry there is a
diagnostic entity variously known as psychopath, sociopath and antisocial
personality disorder. The central feature of this disorder is the failure to
develop any ethical standards of social behavior, The concept of "do unto others
as you would have them do unto you" is foreign to the psychopath. That
remarkable advice is replaced by "do unto others as it pleases you regardless of
consequences." We do not know for sure the cause of such behavior, whether it is
genetic in origin, the result of early developmental trauma, or a combination of
the two. The outstanding feature is that the psychopath has a natural talent for
using and exploiting others and does so with such skill that true motives remain
concealed by ingratiating ways and apparent normality. At some point the bubble
bursts and the victim awakens to the reality that they have been taken.
In a democratic society
government is supposed to serve the needs of every member of that society. There
are two models for such societies, Both involve capitalism. The social
democratic societies, such as in Scandinavia, temper the profit motive so as to
restrict the massive inequities and ensure that health, education, security and
opportunity is available to all. They do this by a system of taxation that
succeeds in narrowing the gap between the haves and the have-nots so that a
significant proportion of the population is not in trouble.
In the United States where
capitalism is given a much freer rein there is the possibility of the profit
motive getting so out of hand that those on top are enriched at the expense of
those left behind, That is "wild capitalism". The recent run of failures of
formerly very profitable corporations are a prime example of that, and how
painful it is for those who are ultimately victimized by it. Victimhood is the
characteristic feature of psychopathy.
A corporation has been endowed
with personhood by the Supreme Court. It is not a person but it is run by
persons. If the ethical standards of those at the top fail to maintain a certain
level of social responsibility, the result is the insidious onset of corporate
psychopathic behavior. A few get very rich and the others wake up one day to
find themselves abandoned by the institution they trusted. We now have to take
into account the corporation as a psychopathic entity outfitting all prior
attempts on the part of governmental regulating agencies to control its
behavior. A reactionary government succumbing to corporate power colludes in
this happening by weakening regulatory controls, In his book "The Corporation",
Joel Bakan offers a thorough account of corporate psychopathy,
The damage in human terms resulting from psychopathic
behavior, individual or corporate, leaves a destructive trail behind. The
individual psychopath contaminates whatever circle he moves in. Corporate
psychopathy contaminates the government which is responsible for setting certain
ethical limits to corporate behavior. Excessive lobbying and financial largesse
influences those who make the laws and those who have the responsibility for
executing the laws.
The title of Hervey Cleckley's classic volume, "The Mask
of Sanity," says it all. The psychopath is someone who seems comfortable
with himself and his surroundings, often of superior intelligence, capable of
turning on the charm said generally creating a positive impression. The problem
is it's all fake. There is no genuine empathy, no sense of responsibility or
concern for anyone but himself. We are no witnessing large scale corporate and
political corruption being unmasked. Money churned out by corporate psychopathy
has influenced legislative and executive functions to the point where the former
has surrendered its unique power to declare war and the latter to begin a war
based on falsehoods fed to the American public.
The analogy between the individual psychopath and the
corporation behaving as a psychopathic entity is limited but frighteningly
meaningful. I will discuss the analogy to the extent to which it conforms to the
current diagnostic criteria of the American Psychiatric Association as noted in
the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV, 1994). The term psychopathy has
been replaced by Antisocial Personality Disorder. The criteria will be noted in
their relevance to the notion of corporate psychopathy.
The listing of the criteria is preceded by the following
statement.
There is a pervasive pattern
of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since the age
of 15 years as indicated by three or more of the following: (criteria)
Comment: This, of course, does not literally apply to a
corporation. Corporations do have a beginning with the incorporation followed by
a growth period which then leads to a successful or unsuccessful maturity. The
temptation to skirt the law may occur at any time. Early indications involve
looking for loopholes in the law, setting up phoney offshore subsidiaries and
courting political power to ease regulatory restrictions.
The Diagnostic Criteria
1. failure to
conform to social norms with regard to lawful behavior as indicated by
repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest.
Comment: This is true
for some psychopaths but not all. Many of them manage to live a long and
parasitic life, never see a day in prison and die quietly of old age. Corrupt
corporations reach positions of great power and they do this by going beyond
social norms. They seek out loopholes in the law, incorporate offshore, curry
favor with politicians, manipulate stock shares and engage in illegal accounting
practices. In their drive for power and profit they pursue a path where when
caught, those at the top still walk away with fabulous sums while the workers
and the shareholders are left holding a very empty bag.
2. deceitfulness as
indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases or conning others for personal
profit or pleasure.
Comment : Conning
others speaks to the heart of psychopathy. Lying consciously or unconsciously is
the instrument by means of which a psychopath establishes a beachhead with his
prey. It comes packaged in various ways - charm, wit, good looks and cunning.
His individual goal is money, love or power. Corrupt corporations are out for
money and power and maneuver the agencies of government in pursuit of their
goals. Love is an irrelevant emotion as this plays out.
3. impulsivity or
failure to plan ahead
Comment: The Iraq War
is a case in point when corporate psychopathy influences the political
structure.
4. irritability and
aggressiveness as indicated in repeated physical fights or assaults
Comment: This is
characteristic of psychopaths who pursue a career in crime. There is aggression
and fighting in the world of corporate psychopathy but this is acted out in the
court to save or expand one's own turf.
5. reckless
disregard for safety of self or others
Comment: Again the
relevance of corporate psychopathy to the political structure has played a role
in the Iraq war, a war that has resulted in the loss of thousands of lives.
6. reckless disregard for safety of self or others consistent with
irresponsibility as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work
behavior or honor financial obligations
Comment: When the word
safety is used here in a more general sense, e.g. financial security, it is
relevant to corporate psychopathy. Once greed takes over honesty goes out the
window. Accounting becomes cover-up. Stock maneuvering enriches the executives
at the expense of the workers and shareholders. When corrupt companies fail,
workers lose.
7. lack of remorse as indicated by being indifferent to or
rationalizing having hurt, mistreated or stolen from another
Comment: The lack of genuine
remorse is another basic feature of psychopathy. The corporation as an entity
cannot feel remorse but the people who run it can, at least to some extent, in
their personal lives and on rare occasions when the law catches up with them and
confronts them with the tragic consequences of their actions. The fact that a
corporation may have taken a psychopathic course does not mean that the
individuals responsible are psychopaths, although there may be an occasional one
among them. They are, however, in an emotionally compromising and awkward place.
On the one hand, they have participated in the creation of a psychopathic entity
that wreaks havoc on people and the environment. On the other hand, at home in
their private lives they are no different than the rest of us except for their
high lifestyle. The only residue of psychopathy in their personal lives is their
enjoyment of ill-gotten gains. A more stark example of this is the emotional
compartmentalization of the concentration camp guard who is very much the
psychopath at his job and the family man at his home.
I have briefly sketched the
extent to which the concept of corporate psychopathy fits into the current
diagnostic criteria of anti-social personality. The diagnosis rests on meeting
at least three of the criteria. I have developed the correspondence based on
meeting six of the seven (1,2,3,5,6,7). The concept of corporate psychopathy
fits snugly into these six.
The criteria as noted in the
manual do not go far enough in capturing the essence of psychopathy, As R.D.
Hare and others have pointed out, they are attuned to a certain segment of the
criminal population and do not sufficiently emphasize the personality traits of
the psychopath, traits which enable them to pursue a psychopathic way of` life
quite well within the accepted bounds of society.
It is often the case that
psychopaths are gifted with a natural talent for ingratiating themselves. They
walk among us wearing "the Mask of Sanity". Impervious to genuine feeling,
lacking in empathy they manage to get what they want from others and tragically
on occasion manipulate an entire nation.
They are to be found at every
level of the social strata including the professions, the business world and
most unfortunately the political world as well, Corporate psychopathy is a
plague that wreaks havoc on people, on the environment and on the moral status
of the nation that tolerates it. Unlike genuine infectious disorders, a chronic
phase precedes the acute one. It extends over the period when the corporation
reaps extravagantly large profits. The acute phase is ushered in when the
financial maneuverings can no longer keep the corporation afloat. It ends up in
a trip to the morgue leaving precious little to salvage.
Corrupt corporations feed on
money and power, The former comes in part from the U.S. Treasury and ultimately
from the general public. To maintain this flow they seek power. The government
is where the power is. Individual psychopaths rely on their personality and
manipulativeness to get what they need from another person. Psychopathic
corporations face a more complex task. They have to influence all three branches
of our government, the legislative, the judiciary and the executive, to go along
with survival tactics motivated by greed rather than the welfare of the public.
Corporations have been in business a long time and have succeeded admirably. We
have created a new generation of robber barons but this time they are playing
for much higher stakes. The pathological fallout is no longer limited to our own
borders. Their reach extends globally, involving us politically, environmentally
and militarily with countries rich and poor. Illness knows no geographical
limits.
The Legislative Branch
The members of the Congress
are prime targets for corporate bribery. Lobbying is one thing. Lobbying backed
by generous financial contributions is another. Recent legislation, for example,
designed to lower the cost of drugs does more to insure the continuing huge
profits of the drug companies. To restrain corporate greed it would have been
better to control drug prices than to leave many with the choice between feeding
a family or buying needed drugs. Pharmaceutical companies do not only bribe
legislators, they also find ways that amount to bribery to influence the
physician's choice of drugs.
Legislators are also pressured
to favor corporate power over the protection of the environment. We have failed
to come to terms with global warming under pressure from the coal and oil
industry. Our public lands, long a treasured heritage, are under siege by oil
and gas interests, as are our forests by the lumber industry. Added to this is
the need for more effective monitoring of the industrial pollution of air and
water.
The Judiciary
Individual psychopaths are
small-time pickpockets compared to the huge sums of money that corrupt
corporations manage to remove from the pockets of each of us. The ultimate
victim is the public at large. We buy what they are selling. The individual
psychopath when he is caught in a criminal act goes to jail. The criminal
corporation goes to court, and until recently most often civil court rather than
criminal court. In the case of the former, fines are levied which may or may not
have the desired effect (there are recidivists). Criminal offenders receive
sentences not commensurate with the damage they have done. The complex nature of
corporate crime makes it more difficult to litigate. Lower level officials are
often the ones that are scapegoats. Finally, there are insufficient prosecutory
resources to thoroughly handle every referral.
Individual psychopaths are
untreatable. Nor do we know much about the prevention. The prognosis is not
quite as bad in the case or corporate psychopathy. Some are so mortally wounded
that sudden death occurs. For some a radical overhaul may be a successful
treatment. Jail is simply an isolation word to temporarily prevent the illness
from spreading. Prevention is the only approach to a cure. We know the causative
virus is greed. An effective serum awaits the day when we succeed (if ever) in
separating money from politics. We face the choice of closing our eyes to the
very infectious nature of the virus and the plague it has produced, or radically
rooting it out by seriously investing our resources in manufacturing that serum.
The government as it is now
functioning is not in a position to prepare the services necessary to immunize
the public. Each of us is faced with the task of creating our own antibodies by
getting closer to an awareness of the extent to which we have been infected and
do what is necessary to usher in wiser leaders,
The Executive Branch
We are profoundly ignorant of
the etiology and prevention of psychopathy in the individual. This is not so in
the case of corporate psychopathy. Deregulation, the money trail to power, and
our materialistic concentration all pave the way to unmitigated greed. Legal
penalties retard or stop the illness in individual cases of corporate
psychopathy but do not get at the root of the problem. In the light of the
legislative failure at prevention, our only hope resides in an executive branch
that has insight into the scope and nature of the illness and the way both
government and our lifestyle has contributed to its existence, Of the three
branches of government, the executive can be the most important in initiating a
program of prevention. The world knows the price that society has paid for
leaders that are poseurs or "strong men". Finding the proper leader who could
initiate a genuine effort at prevention is a daunting one. We need a leader who
has the courage to look into a magic mirror that reveals all the ways these
malignant organisms have worked their way into the avenues of government and
into the lives of the citizenry it is there to protect. He or she would have to
have the foresight and vision of our Founding Fathers, the honesty of Abe
Lincoln and the capacity of a war president like F.D.F in keeping the country
united instead of splitting it into two hostile factions.
Although the virus responsible
for corporate psychopathy has been endemic at least since Theodore Roosevelt's
time, it has now risen to epidemic proportions. We are dealing with a virus that
ravages people and the environment and has caused a palpable degree of moral
fallout. Robert Hare, in his book, Without Conscience, refers to this
latter change as resulting in a "camouflage society." He cites the role of
corporate power as fostering a cultural atmosphere "where egocentricity, lack of
concern for others, superficiality, style over substance, being cool,
manipulativeness and so forth are tolerated and even valued. Even more important
is the reality that the ullman* linkage of corporate psychopathy to political
power is a recipe for totalitarianism.
Our country is more divided
along party lines than it has been in a long time. If we, the people, can come
together in the recognition of this deepening illness in our midst, we can more
effectively strive to eliminate it. Instead of a politically divided Supreme
Court, we are in need of a Mayo Clinic of last resort. After all, doctors don't
work along party lines in their efforts at healing.
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