Political Ponerology 'The Book'
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Laura said:
Correct. The original Polish title leaves no room for confusion as Polish language is case and gender sensitive. Strictly literal translation would be: "PP: The Science of Evil in adaptation to political matters/problems/questions". As Laura said, it's the science that's been adapted / adjusted.
anka
The Living Force
Well, once againg I am having trouble to precisely grasp a sentence from the book:
The sequence from 'then preaching...' is confusing to me. Is it the moralists then preaching the need to rediscover lost human values? That's how I understand it. The doctrinaire individuals show their contempt while the moralists want to keep/rediscover the traditional values. Do I understand it correctly?
The sequence from 'then preaching...' is confusing to me. Is it the moralists then preaching the need to rediscover lost human values? That's how I understand it. The doctrinaire individuals show their contempt while the moralists want to keep/rediscover the traditional values. Do I understand it correctly?
anka said:
Yes. It's clarified if the word 'then' is substituted for the words 'who are':
These doctrinaire individuals characteristically manifest a certain contempt with regard to moralists who are preaching the need to rediscover lost human values and to develop a richer, more appropriate psychological world view.
T.C. said:
I think that the "then" refers back to the "during stable times" which is "characterized by an impoverished psychological world view."
So, during such a time, schizoidal types treat with contempt those who are "then" (during such a time) saying "we have to go back to our basic values and see things as they really are."
Laura said:
And that's how it is phrased in the Polish edition. :)
Anonymous IX
The Force is Strong With This One
Thanks for this thread. I've ordered the book and can't wait to begin reading. Looks like this thread will come in handy. I started Inside the Criminal Mind today and am utterly riveted. Absolutely spellbound. I love mysteries and crime procedurals (like Forensic Files), but this book is like the best mystery I ever read! Today = breathing and reading.
lilies
The Living Force
Somebody explain the terms of downward and upward social adjustment, please!
Recently in the radio-shows these two terms came up. I went through the PDF version of this book, hunting for a good paragraph defining exactly, WTH is going on with these two terms. Now I'm confused! I didn't have any problems understanding this in the past. But checking the book now I am not finding any clear definition for these two..
Logically (for me now) a downward social adjustment would mean a person, who is too stupid and inept for a job that has high-skill / high-ability / PhD requirements, but nevertheless he is put in that high level job and cannot perform any tasks required there at all, he is making mistakes upon mistakes and is therefore naturally better adjusted for low level jobs, he is looking downward, is -->downward adjusted...
An upward social adjustment means to me a skilled worker, who's talent is wasted in a mediocre job he was forced into by psychopathic leadership in power. He is very skilled and is constantly looking up, no matter what he does, he displays superior skills, so he should be going in the ranks upward, --> upwardly adjusted...
Or is it that the social adjustment was made by the psychopathic leadership and they pushed a stupid idiot UPWARD --> therefore the idiot in a high position making mistakes has an upward social adjustment, because he was kicked there
and
a highly skilled person with a downward social adjustment was similarly removed from any high level position, where he could pose any danger to the current psychopathic leadership and he was pushed downward, therefore he has a downward social adjustment. He was pushed there.
Recently in the radio-shows these two terms came up. I went through the PDF version of this book, hunting for a good paragraph defining exactly, WTH is going on with these two terms. Now I'm confused! I didn't have any problems understanding this in the past. But checking the book now I am not finding any clear definition for these two..
Logically (for me now) a downward social adjustment would mean a person, who is too stupid and inept for a job that has high-skill / high-ability / PhD requirements, but nevertheless he is put in that high level job and cannot perform any tasks required there at all, he is making mistakes upon mistakes and is therefore naturally better adjusted for low level jobs, he is looking downward, is -->downward adjusted...
An upward social adjustment means to me a skilled worker, who's talent is wasted in a mediocre job he was forced into by psychopathic leadership in power. He is very skilled and is constantly looking up, no matter what he does, he displays superior skills, so he should be going in the ranks upward, --> upwardly adjusted...
Or is it that the social adjustment was made by the psychopathic leadership and they pushed a stupid idiot UPWARD --> therefore the idiot in a high position making mistakes has an upward social adjustment, because he was kicked there
and
a highly skilled person with a downward social adjustment was similarly removed from any high level position, where he could pose any danger to the current psychopathic leadership and he was pushed downward, therefore he has a downward social adjustment. He was pushed there.
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lilies
The Living Force
Or is it that the social adjustment isn't an intrinsic property of a man, but rather the psychopathic leadership ADJUSTED him upward?
and
a highly skilled person with a downward social adjustment was similarly ADJUSTED DOWNWARD BY the psychopathic leadership and he was removed from any high level position, where he could pose any danger to the current psychopathic leadership and he was pushed downward, therefore he has a downward social adjustment. He was MADE pushed there.
and
a highly skilled person with a downward social adjustment was similarly ADJUSTED DOWNWARD BY the psychopathic leadership and he was removed from any high level position, where he could pose any danger to the current psychopathic leadership and he was pushed downward, therefore he has a downward social adjustment. He was MADE pushed there.
It's the last two, not the first two. Upward adjustment is being put in a position near the top of the hierarchy for which you aren't qualified. Downward adjustment is being kept at a low position, despite being better suited to a higher position. But it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with psychopathy - it applies to hierarchies of normal people as well as pathocratic hierarchies. Upward adjustment can simply be the result of nepotism, political croneyism or favoritism. The problem is compounded in a pathocratic hierarchy, because not only do you get incompetence, you get pathology on top of that.
Lobaczewski argues that when downward adjustment reaches a certain level, it produces revolutionary feelings, which makes revolution and the creation of a pathocracy real possibilities. Basically, society becomes diseased and corrupted, which opens the door for revolutions to "set things right", which opens the door for pathocratic operators to steer things in their own chosen direction.
I'd say social adjustment IS an intrinsic part of human nature, in the sense that people tend to self-organize into groups where each person finds their place more or less (e.g., good violinists get to be the soloists in a violin concerto, not beginners or talentless hobbyist). But there are various things that pervert the process. But the examples you give are good. Psychopaths can and will actively adjust people upward if it suits their purposes, and adjust people downward if they're too competent (like firing a competent engineer once he's outlived his usefulness, or blocking the path of someone who's competent and can potentially effect some kind of positive change in the system).
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lilies
The Living Force
Thank You for your help! I put your explanation into my main research file, containing academic terms, book notes, latin and greek words. For some reason this was a complete logical blindspot for me, difficult to store in memory the correct data! Thank You!!
I have been wondering if a new lay out for the cover of Political ponerology wouldn't be a good thing. The cover shows Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and others, but many in the younger generations will not recognise those people and make the click connection. Today we have other critters like Fauci, Gates and countless others who might, on a new cover, give the book a lift. The understanding that the book conveys is almost crucial to understand the current clown show. What do you think?
It's in the works! We'll be going with a new cover concept, but rest assured, it's very cool.
