Megalomaniac
By Louis Kakoutis
In every society, the judgement, indeed the sanity of those who challenge the status quo is fiercely questioned by authorities who refuse to recognize the possibility that their ideas are inadequate, because they like to pretend they are infallible and anyone who thinks unlike them must be controlled.
This condition, which is known as "megalomania" in psychology textbooks, is probably behind every single war which has ever been fought. On the personal as well as the societal level, the deleterious consequences of megalomania are very clear because those who refuse to recognize or acknowledge the possibility of error are ultimately responsible for repeating error.
Megalomania is a psychopathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of power, relevance, omnipotence, and by inflated self-esteem. For no good reason, the term "megalomania" has been replaced by "Narcissistic Personality Disorder" and that first appeared as a mental health diagnosis in the DSM III-TR (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual) in 1980.
Whether it is called 'Megalomania' or 'Narcissistic personality Disorder' the fact is that those who suffer from this largely ignored mental illness should not be allowed to exercise authority over others because they act like hopelessly incompetent tyrants who exhibit the following symptoms:
A/ Feel grandiose and self-important (e.g., exaggerate accomplishments, talents, skills, contacts, and personality traits to the point of lying and demand to be recognised as superior without commensurate achievements);
B/ Are obsessed with fantasies of unlimited success, fame, fearsome power or omnipotence, unequalled brilliance (the cerebral narcissist), bodily beauty or sexual performance (the somatic narcissist), or ideal, everlasting, all-conquering love or passion;
C/ Firmly convinced that he or she is unique and, being special, can only be understood by, should only be treated by, or associate with, other special or unique, or high-status people (or institutions);
D/ Require excessive admiration, adulation, attention and affirmation – or, failing that, wish to be feared and to be notorious (Narcissistic Supply);
E/ Feel entitled. Demand automatic and full compliance with their unreasonable expectations for special and favourable priority treatment;
F/ Are "interpersonally exploitative", i.e., uses others to achieve their own ends;
G/ Are devoid of empathy. Are unable or unwilling to identify with, acknowledge, or accept the feelings, needs, preferences, priorities, and choices of others;
H/ Constantly envious of others and seeks to hurt or destroy the objects of their frustration. Suffer from persecutory (paranoid) delusions as they believe others feel the same about them and are likely to act similarly;
I/ Behave arrogantly and haughtily. Feels superior, omnipotent, omniscient, invincible, immune, "above the law", and omnipresent (magical thinking). Rages when frustrated, contradicted, or confronted by people they consider to be inferior to them and unworthy.
Megalomaniacs should not occupy positions of authority because, in a democracy, the rule of law is established, not by those who think they are above it, but by those who are committed to serve it. Consequently, as long as we are able to identify and expose the megalomaniac, we can deny them the obsession to impose their will without appropriate or adequate authority.
Replace the age of the megalomaniac with the age where reason and justice prevail, and the change that Spinoza, Socrates, Jesus and Seneca advocated, will arrive.
Ironically, Spinoza was writing a book about Democracy before his untimely death, and not surprisingly, it was a timeless work in progress because we have a very long way to go to realize the rights, the freedoms and liberties that are routinely acknowledged through lip service, but denied in practice.
Ignorant of the cause of their malady, megalomaniacs must be "straight-jacketed" because because they are ultimately delusional.
The bottom line is rather clear. If we fail to expose the plague of the megalomaniac and render it powerless by electing people who are willing and able to understand the simple fact that we are all equal under the rule of law, we will regress into utter chaos.
Next: Marilyn Monroe and her bro, Joe DiMaggio
