Here is a thought I've been having more and more over time. One of my main interests, as you know, is what motivates people, why they do what they do, and how they perceive it, understand it, or rationalize it. Obviously, we're not dealing with normal humans here.
These ruling elites, like economic elites, would measure higher on social dominance orientation (SDO; dominance behavior & anti-egalitarianism) and dark personality (Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, sadism), while lower on 'honesty-humility' (HEXACO). In common parlance, they're deranged moral reprobates.
For example, the psychopathy rate of CEOs is similar to prisoners. That would certainly be the case with the tech oligarchs who are at the extremes. Presumably, the same would be true of the highest level of politicians in all major parties, particularly in the global superpowers, and particularly under national and global high inequality.
Disparity of power is an intoxicating and addictive drug to SDOs and dark personalities. But disparity of power is also disconnecting and alienating, both from others and the self. It's not only those lacking empathy are drawn into power. Research indicates that high class status, particularly being raised in it, stunts development of cognitive empathy.
Cognitive empathy has to do with the ability empathetically imagine and model other people's minds, and so to be able to accurately read their emotions, motivations, etc. What studies show is that the further up the economic ladder one goes the less capacity people have for this skill.
Basically, the upper echelons are totally mind blind. Other humans are viscerally and emotionally not real to them. In addition, it appears that children develop the ability of introspective self-awareness and self-understanding by first developing cognitive empathy. Then that skill is internalized.
But if the elite never learn that skill, they are equally blind to their own minds. These elites are absolutely clueless, disconnected even from their own humanity. That would suggest that most of the elite don't even understand themselves nor could explain their own motivations. And there is no self-control without self-understanding.
That is to say the elite are more enmeshed and controlled by the dominant system than anyone else: "Control [is] controlled by its need for control" (WSB). They can't even see the consequences and harms to themselves, their families, and communities. It's the reason psychopaths will take lightly dangerous risks, as they have no psychological grasp of future pain, harm, and death.
That is similar to a point that Keith Payne brings up (The Broken Ladder). High inequality is worse for everyone, including the wealthy; with higher rates of stress-related diseases, mental illness, addiction, alcoholism, conflict, etc. Yet the elite are the last to have an inkling of the problem. That gets to a related issue.
The elite system doesn't only seek to create a subjugated permanent underclass or caste to be oppressed, controlled, manipulated, and exploited. As or more important, it must create a compliant elite class incapable of thinking and acting for themselves (William Deresiewicz, Excellent Sheep). This is also why propaganda is so important, starting with the indoctrination of the elite. C.J. Hopkins writes ():
"Chief among the common misconceptions about the way official propaganda works is the notion that its goal is to deceive the public into believing things that are not 'the truth' (that Trump is a Russian agent, for example, or that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, or that the terrorists hate us for our freedom, et cetera). However, while official propagandists are definitely pleased if anyone actually believes whatever lies they are selling, deception is not their primary aim.
"The primary aim of official propaganda is to generate an 'official narrative' that can be mindlessly repeated by the ruling classes and those who support and identify with them. This official narrative does not have to make sense, or to stand up to any sort of serious scrutiny. Its factualness is not the point. The point is to draw a Maginot line, a defensive ideological boundary, between 'the truth' as defined by the ruling classes and any other 'truth' that contradicts their narrative."
In a system of control, there must be a controlled elite. There needs to be people with institutional power and authority who will simply and unquestioningly repeat and do what they're told. That brings me to wonder about the likes of Hillary Clinton. Does she care about the costs and consequences? Probably not. Does she even understand the costs and consequences? Also, probably not. She is merely a tool of power.
There is no adult at the wheel. There are no masters of the universe. There is no global cabal that is guiding history. The ruling elite are caught up in their own games of power, duped by their own rhetoric, lost in their own narratives. The more control they attempt to enforce the more out of control everything becomes.
Below is something Grant H. Brenner wrote in an article, One Personality Trait Tempers the Dark Triad, about whether dark personalities can change and, if so, how. Interesting and helpful is the aspect of anosognosia, related to the above discussion about awareness and understanding.
“It is expected that people higher on the Dark Triad will not want to change, in spite of the many negatives associated with these traits, because, by definition, the triad involves reduced empathy plus lack of awareness that there is a problem (anosognosia), combined with a sense of superiority over and separateness from other, lesser beings. “Why would I want to change that?” often covers up insecurity, shame, and an impaired sense of self.”
He links to another one of his articles, . He argues that developing agreeableness (FFM), as presumably would honesty-humility (HEXACO), potentially decreases dark traits. That might make sense if a side effect was increasing empathy, both cognitive and affective. But under high inequality, chronic stress, and complex trauma, what are the chances of a dark personality improving? Probably slim to none.
Also see:
99% Problems: Government of the Rich, By the Rich, and For the Rich
