Sociopaths / Psychopaths

Whatever one thinks of Adam Smith, he deserves to be read initially objectively with some sense of perspective. Chick in this passage he is basically saying that the individual in fufilling his own self interest is fufilling the interests of the greater good (society). This passage has nothing to do with trickery or deception, you are not reading the passage accurately. Smith's point, whether one agrees with it, or not, is that properly pursuing our own self interest becomes the interest of society...not that our interests are secretly being fufilled at the expense of society!

You have to understand John Stuart Mills and the Utilitarians who believed that group actions should benefit the greater good AT THE EXPENSE OF THE INDIVIDUAL, to understand why Smith uses the words that he does. Smith is simply trying to show that the proper pursuit of economic self interest is in the best interests of society...again not saying I agree or disagree, but you are twisting his words around to try to create a percieved intent that is not part of the writing. I would suggest you look at some of the details regarding Smith when he wrote these passages so you do not get confused in the future.

 

Sometimes a good person is turned into a bad one because of adoration from a public. One of the best examples of this was Raj Neesh. Many good people swear by his "power" including two of his jailers in the South who were hardly Bakti connected! But it seems that he was corrupted in the process. I remember after living in the Mnt Tremper Buddhist Monastery and coming to San Francisco, seeing how the San Francisco Zen Community was basically laid to waste by Baker Roshi, a charasmatic teacher who turned out to be quite dangerous.

I only say this because often people have a black/white mentality regarding the dance of the Guru and student! In India and other ancient places, I am told that even the most venerated Guru before having a contract with a student is sat down where a discussion is had regarding "how many bowls of rice" to put it humerously. If you ask a Southern resident of India about this they will tell you that even spiritual power is subject to sober thinking and a bargain if it can be had by the student. As a martial arts teacher I have seen fantastic visions of what a martial art is when talking with students... Academic credentials, activists, etc...are all subject to this interplay imo.

 

Discussing Peter Joseph and his anti-capitalist perspective is equated to "shitting on all threads" by our lovely member David, so I will discuss it here instead of in the banally named "Hello All" thread.

So what's wrong with capitalism?

Capitalism is founded on the principle of individuals pursuing their own self-interest and maximizing that pursuit. Maximizing your self-interest is known as greed. At its base, capitalism is about being selfish and greedy. It's about competition rather than cooperation. It's about scarcity rather than sufficiency. It's about excess for a few and poverty for many. It's about limitless growth rather than balance. It's about advertising and mindless consumption. It's about deception and manipulation. It's about power and control. It's about sociopathy.

Adam Smith is deceiving and manipulating us with his words. Let's correct the first sentence in order to see how that deception is done. It should read "Every individual necessarily labours to render the annual revenue of himself as great as he can." Why did Adam Smith employ this subtle trick, substituting the word "society" instead? He clearly recognizes that selfish pursuit is indeed the goal, as he confirms with "He generally neither intends to promote the public interest, nor knows how much he is promoting it ... He intends only his own gain..." Smith then says our capitalist individual is "led by an invisible hand". That invisible hand is selfishness and greed. But then Smith deceives again, stating the invisible hand "promote(s) an end which was no part of his intention." Wrong, Mr. Smith! The invisible hand is simply the collective selfishness and greed of the capitalists, which is fundamentally directed at self-promotion! Self-enrichment is the intent.

Now Adam Smith sets the barb, writing "By pursuing his own interest he frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it." I feel like I'm listening to UncleZook here with all this "truth twisting" going on! By pursuing his own interest he rarely promotes that of the society. Self-enrichment is completely different from societal enrichment! Then the piece de resistance -- "I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good." Lots of truth there, when you are hanging out with sociopaths bent on deceiving and manipulating in pursuit of their own selfish interests!

 

I can rewrite that quote substituting an American presidential candidate in for Stephen, like so:

"Trump is a sociopath. He is part of the mainstream-media con. Once you realize he is a fraud, you cannot take him seriously. As a result, you don't pay attention to him other than to expose his con-game to others who are still falling for it."

And yes, I could just as easily substitute Hillary Clinton in there as well!

I just created a post on a mind-blowing article in The New Yorker about Trump here. One of the characteristics of a sociopath from that post seemed especially relevant to events that have occurred here at Inphinet. It is the following:

How interesting. All the sociopaths I have confronted here — Shezbeth, Shadowself, Zook, and David — displayed similar patterns of angry behavior.

That is no coincidence. Hillary is known to do the same thing. She is a real witch when challenged.

 

Stephen is a sociopath. He is part of the alt-media con. Once you realize he is a fraud, you cannot take him seriously. As a result, you don't pay attention to him other than to expose his con-game to others who are still falling for it.

 

I don't know Peter Joseph personally and referenced him as an example pointer toward the alternative thinking processes for changing our systems of gross inequality as these individual/group thinkers could be added to a list for future contact re supporting a GAC on psychopathic logic-leadership. I don't know Chico personally either, yet, but with my investment so far in his writings and written communications on the forums I really do think it would be valuable to see Peter and Chico converse - I would be excited by what could potentially be inspired to evolve by putting these two together; so I'm glad you're up for it Chico as hopefully this may come to fruition at a later date.

I am also not familiar with, nor have any subjective investment/interest in the ins and outs of who/what the "18", Atticus, Stephen, etc group/references are - apart from what I have come to assume was a group of people who met on forums coming together with the view to making changes-doing projects of some sort and unfortunately a series of events and rifts eventually caused a lot of grief; so I'm getting a bit lost in some of the references but Rose and Chico are doing a fine job, imho, of bringing clarification to this confusion with their dialogue.

 

I agree with that.

I have learned some things from Peter Joseph that I didn't know before. It seems I am constantly learning, from nearly all sources. This is happening despite the fact that "there is nothing new under the sun". I thought I was something new under the sun, born with an empty mind that could apparently process information, but I mistakenly believed I would receive true information. Mostly what I got was propaganda masquerading as true information. When someone steps forward to expose the pervasive con, like a Peter Joseph, I pay attention. In a world of propaganda, when someone says "You're being fooled with propaganda", that seems like the only truth out there that one can really grab onto.

 

So are you thinking that he is warning us about our subjugation to a sociopathic system steered by sociopaths because of bad intent on his part? Meaning his intent is to harm humanity rather than help it? Or to help the controlling sociopaths rather than depose them?

I see his intent as a good one, to help humanity by exposing the trickery used by sociopaths to enslave the bulk of humanity so that we serve their interests instead of the common interest. Have I been fooled?

 

Thanks, Rose. I didn't know about his "Culture in Decline" series, and I have just started watching it. I've watched 3 of the 6 parts so far, and Peter continues to make many of the same observations about our insane society that I do. I haven't seen any propaganda or inconsistencies from him yet, which makes me all the more curious about the specific criticisms you might have on his world view.

That's understandable, considering that you did not get the value you expected from your Wilcox donation. Of course, that does not necessarily mean that Peter Joseph is out to scam you. I do not engage in donations of any kind, especially now that I have dropped out of the traditional economic system as much as I can. So I won't give money to Peter's cause, nor do I like the fact that he feels he needs the money to get his ideas across. He managed quite well without donations for his Zeitgeist series. But, in his defense, keep in mind that we do still live in a world based on money, even if some of us dislike that system. We often have no choice but to deal with it.

 

What is that drawing on her belly? It looks ghostly. What does this image mean? What is Peter Joseph's new project?

From what Gemma has posted, I don't believe she knows Peter Joseph or that they are friends. I don't know him either, though I have great respect for his Zeitgeist films and the lectures I have heard him give.

 

Sociopaths have little to no empathy. Almost all the characteristics of sociopaths, if not all of them, are derived from having no empathy. They lie. They cheat. They steal. They deceive. They manipulate. They can be monstrously nasty and sickly sweet. It's just a game to them. They feel no shame. They take no responsibility. They are selfish. They are conceited. They are arrogant. They pretend to be what they are not. They are chameleons. They accuse opponents of their own hidden malfeasance. They hide the truth when it suits them, and distort the truth when it benefits them. They don't really care about others, but they are such practiced actors that they can make you believe the exact opposite. They are deceivers to the core.

All that comes from no empathy? Yep.

The underlying basis of the Golden Rule ("Do not do to others what you would not want done to you.") is empathy. Because of this, sociopaths do not understand the Golden Rule the way normal people do. Sociopaths see nothing wrong with what they do to others, because they rationalize it as "If I were that stupid, I would deserve to be deceived and manipulated." That's right, sociopaths feel entitled because they believe themselves so superior to their victims. Their success rate at deceiving and manipulating others reinforces that sense of superiority, of entitlement, of dominance. Sociopathy is essentially a self-contained positive-feedback loop that makes the sociopath ever more dangerous.

Here is a TED Talk dealing with empathy. It's one I posted at Avalon five years ago. In it, an empathetic person tries to lead the audience on a journey exploring empathy from all perspectives. In contrast, the outside world is much more manipulative, using our empathy against us, emphasizing empathy for our side only, or convincing us to ignore empathy. This is because the outside world is steered by organized sociopaths who wish to deceive and manipulate us -- without any empathy for us.

 

It is a good thing, but I wish it were treated with more seriousness. Rudd should be disqualified from all political positions based on a psychological review from qualified and unbiased experts in psychopathy. It's presented as almost a joke on the TV program, when it is a matter of ultimate importance.

But yes, the fact that it even got media exposure shows that more people are awakening to the problem of sociopaths in positions of power and control, and that the power of organized sociopaths to suppress this kind of information is slipping.

 

Just loaded my email page and boom there was this:

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/ne...t/news-story/fa86daa11496d6338e88e49810632ac1

Hmm the Psychopath meme is certainly getting some exposure as not being only related to serial killers - I see this as a good thing for helping to break the paradigm mold leading up to a campaign to expose and flesh out the seriousness of this global issue!

P.S. Chico thanks for your question in the other thread - it is something I have been pondering myself. I started to reply but got pulled away so will get back to it soon (and will also try to cull it to a page instead of a book )

 

Gemma posted a valuable perspective here related to the problem of sociopaths. Peter Joseph calls for a new economic system, a resource based economy. Why do we need a new kind of economy? Is there something wrong with the economy we have?

Absolutely there is!

The existing economic system is based on the pursuit of selfish profit. It relies on a human emotion known as greed. Greed is often expressed as cheating, which relies on some kind of subtle deception to manipulate another party into giving you his money, where money is essentially a place holder for value. Deception, manipulation, selfish interest, and greed are most pronounced in sociopaths. Thus the current economic system works best for their benefit, which is borne out in the human world as we see it, where most of the wealth (value) of the world is concentrated in the hands of a few very pronounced sociopaths.

The influence of sociopaths on our diseased societal structure is thus very old, very pronounced, very ingrained, and very unfair. The entire existing economic system is essentially more evidence that the root of all human evil is the mind of the sociopath, and has been for a very long time.

 

True story, it happened yesterday. I was riding my mountain bike on a residential sidewalk and elected to switch back to the street. My front tire got caught on a small ridge where the sidewalk had settled a bit below the junction with the curb. This pulled my tire into the ledge and stopped it from turning, and down I went.

The first thing I heard from up the street was someone laughing out loud at my accident. This was followed by someone down the street calling out in a concerned voice, "Are you OK?"

I picked myself up, turned towards the person down the street, and replied that I was OK. I ignored the A-hole up the street, figuring he had already ducked out of sight.

One person had reacted to my accident with empathy. One had not. Which person did I consider to be the A-hole?

Which person do you consider to be the A-hole?

 

Interesting story here -- a "sociopath" who was cured!

One of the videos I watched was of a 6-year old girl named Beth Thomas. Her behavior was chilling, and her lack of empathy seemed to qualify her as a sociopath.



Child of Rage The FULL Documentary


What I didn't know when I watched the video was Beth's background:

So Beth may not have been born a sociopath, but the abuse she suffered seemed to make her one.

RAD is considered by some to be a precursor to psychopathy.

For Beth Thomas, the story seems to have a happy ending ( 1 2 ). Her adopted mother(?) Nancy Thomas appears to have been important in Beth's successful therapy and runs a practice called Families By Design to help others like Beth. However, this story is not without its critics or controversy ( 1 2 3 ):

 

Deception and manipulation is becoming normal, accepted, and even admired as sociopaths continue to mold us in their image. My son sent me the video below which shows the sneaky ways online gambling is now being marketed to kids! Watch the sociopaths make "cool" videos that convince gullible children to make those very sociopaths rich! It is beyond belief.

Just keep in mind that some of what goes on in the black budget projects of the U.S. government that are above top secret is orders of magnitude more unethical and reprehensible than what you are seeing on the public Internet. Yes, it is that bad. That is exactly what happens when sociopaths are in charge.



Deception, Lies, and CSGO

 

I have seen Shezbeth, Shadowself, and UncleZook do exactly that in this forum, and I have even commented on it as it was happening, already cognisant of the deception. It is unfortunate that sociopaths clandestinely poison the environment that non-sociopaths tend to expect and trust. It is a very unhealthy situation, as human history, even though massively distorted, will still attest to. I might add that forum history, at least as I have experienced in the past five years, will also attest to it.

 

It's true, things happen fast in the forums. It can make your head spin. Often times, that is a deliberate part of the plan.

I've only got what is written as well. The fracture may or may not be conspiratorial. Appearances can be deceptive. Often times, that too is a deliberate part of the plan. Deception and manipulation. You can expect it.

Conflicts of interest are a normal part of the forum experience. How we react to those conflicts is often a revealing sign of our true intentions.

It's huge. That I have become such an important target in the eyes of so many exposed sociopaths is an indication of the critical importance of understanding sociopathy. Zook has been hounding me for years, despite losing argument after argument in spectacular fashion. There's hardly anyone even listening to me, yet I am always in the cross hairs.

It's sabotage, plain and simple. The easiest form of sabotage for the organized sociopaths to implement is dissension. Divide and conquer. It was done at Avalon by Bill Ryan and cult followers using targeted censorship. It was done at Atticus1 by Stephen and his wannabe dictators using similar methods. It was done at Nexus by the administrator using the VBulletin Miserable User module against selected forum members. It was also done at United People by GypsyWoman and her assembled wrecking crew. So I have some familiarity with how it's done, and it wouldn't surprise me if it is being implemented here. I will definitely not be dismissing conspiracy as I examine the possibilities.

Look at what we are taught in America:

• We have this wonderful equality, unique in the world, that our forefathers fought and died for.
• Our leaders are competent and capable, acting with our best interests in mind.

Both are insidious lies, but with enough truth within them to convince the majority of Americans that both are unquestionably true.

It's that simple if we could remove the mischief of the sociopathic rulers of this world. But with their mischief in play, it is not simple at all, it is chaos. It is chaos by their deliberate design. To bring about the tyrannical order they desire, the ruling sociopaths must drive the world into chaos, meaning they must sabotage that "simple" world of unity that we could easily create without their meddling.

I can see it plainly, but there are not many others that can. You are one of those rare people. I remarked on that when you first came to the forum, as it was so astonishing to me.

No, that won't work. It has been tried many times. Ron Paul is a prime example. He was a person of visible empathy running for president of the United States, and the ruling sociopaths recognized the danger he represented and neutralized him. This is what always happens when sociopaths rule.

I'm glad you did. You have brought up critical issues that need to be investigated and clearly understood, and I strongly thank you for that. Unlike others, you are helping rather than sabotaging.

 

Just finished my busy few weeks and have a two week break.
Need to take a few days rest then ready to launch into putting together a first draft action plan for a "massive global awareness campaign re 'should sociopaths be leaders'" topic; which I brought up previously.
Thought I would take the time to "catch up" on reading the sykpe convo's and BHAM! What just happened???
I've only got what is written and perhaps I am still too naive yet with my experience in forums, but I can't see where this fracture is conspiratorial.
My thoughts lean more toward "conflicts of interest" over spiritual/materialistic/philosophical/philanthropic/political/cultural etc, etc, etc, viewpoints.
I am beginning to realize just how colossal this quandary re the sociopathic topic is even when brought to the fore of awareness facepalm

What I am struggling to get is why we can't just get on with creatively fixing this problem with the skill-sets and resources we already have "on the ground", so to speak, without it being overcomplicated with numerous other tangents. To me, it really can be simply recognized as a repair job - our car breaks, we find the cause, we fix it - our world favours inequality, we find the cause, we fix it. The disease of sociopathy is a lack of empathy resulting in behaviours, (and indoctrination/coercion of others into behaviours), of inequality. That's it! Simple!
Hose has a crack in it causing chaos of flow. Replace it. Simple!

Why is this so difficult to understand, (especially with the evidence we have so far on the table), as being the leading cause of global leadership incompetence when the majority of humans favour equality?
My measuring for majority of humans is a) through my own global observations as I don't know the majority of humans and b) by ratio calculation of a large number of people that I do know and using this as a rule of thumb.

Surely this "simplicity" is enough for a common ground unity, irrespective of one's philosophical, spiritual, religious, cosmological, etc, inclinations? Or is it just me seriously f@#ikng missing something huh9

I have to wonder if there are actually many people out there that ever imagine what an amazingly advanced species we would be if our leadership was merit based on empathic markers/behaviours - or are we so knee-deep in arguing for our limitations that this consideration doesn't even get a look-in.

Hmmm, an idea just crossed my mind. With so much resistance to outing sociopaths maybe we should start with a different tack. Outing empathic merit based leaders as lead-in examples for bringing the contrast into awareness??? Gonna be hard to find them in the top echelon of global leadership for sure, but we can find loads on the middle and ground levels to bring into a juxtaposition with sociopaths. Maybe this could get people's creative juices flowing out of the quagmire of arguing over age-old topics that simply cannot be verified yet.

Was going to skype chat this but with time differences, etc it is hard for me to be around when conversation is peaking, so I decided to post it.

 

The film you posted, Mesmer, is a good example of that. So yes, it would appear that we are not to take seriously the power of suggestion, so that the ruling sociopaths can continue to use their mind control techniques against us without our realizing it.