Society has finally learned to recognise and call out the Dark Triad of behaviours – narcissism, psychopathy and Machiavellianism. These traits are particularly prominent in those who are driven to lord it over others. Seekers of power, wealth and status. They gravitate towards politics and business; examples of those who have caused untold damage to fellow humans are all round us. From Putin to Al-Fayed they are easy to spot once they've reached their pinnacle and unleashed their venom.
The arrogant bastard needs keeping in his place (far more rarely, her place). Keep the fuckers down, I say. Don't let them run your country, your city, your town, your company, your anything. Identify their behaviour early on – and shun the shit out of them. Turn your back on them.
HR departments – learn to identify the power-crazed bigmouths through careful sifting of CVs and by asking the right questions at interviews. Remember, people join a company but leave a manager. And in today's labour market, predicated by continual demographic decline, you don't want toxic twats rising up the fast-track management ladder, chasing promotions until they get that top job. They will cause talented staff to quit in droves.
Political parties – be very careful when selecting candidates. Consider the dangers of what such a person would be like in charge of things. The likelihood is that a person with the Dark Triad in a position of absolute power would eventually end up being an utter disaster for his nation. Hitler is the perfect example.
Narcissists are experts at masking their true nature; they have to. They are skilled at deception, weaving plausible narratives to gloss over their more egregious mistakes. As Machiavellians, they will play one side against another, using people instrumentally, as means to an end. As psychopaths they have zero empathy with those whom they must crush if they get in their way. And here, Stalin is the perfect example. [Trump doesn't have the brains to be truly Machiavellian. But then he makes up for it with his full-blown clinical narcissist behaviour disorder.]
"If only we could have known," people wail with hindsight. But as word spreads about the Dark Triad, as society acquires a better grasp of psychology, those who still hunger for power and status will fall into two categories – those who can mask well, and those who can't. The latter will be kept away from positions of power. Those who can mask will be going out of their way to fake empathy, charity, team spirit and openness. They understand full well that such displays are but a means to their end – power and status. But if we (we the people) are watchful, tell-tales signs will out. Freudian slips, what have you.
So who should lead us? The humble and honest. But typically they have no desire to lead. The quest to find leadership talent untainted by the Dark Triad is much harder than merely giving in to him who shouts "ME! ME! ME!" the loudest. It should entail coaching and encouragement, persuasion and support once a potential leader is identified.
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Rural supply, rural demand
Down with this sort of thing! Kler, reviewed.
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Britain's Conservatives turn their backs on economic liberalism
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The short-term future of suburban development
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