Guest Post by Jesse
“What is good? All that enhances the feeling of power, the will to power, and the power itself in man. What is bad? All that proceeds from weakness. What is happiness? The feeling that power is increasing— that resistance has been overcome.
Not contentment, but more power; not peace at any price, but war; not virtue, but competence. The first principle of our humanism is that the weak and the failures shall perish. And they ought to be helped to perish.”
Friedrich Nietzsche
There is a range in human behaviours. There may be a baseline, but not all are the same.
And this is why theories that assume that everyone has a basic world outlook that is the same like you, that all people have a natural desire to be friendly, helpful, and sharing falter out of either a good nature or from a good maximizing, selflessly reasoning behaviour, falter so badly when applied to the real world.
When a society fails to restrain some of the worst behaviours of those who prey on others in term of power or money, their example serves to bring out the worst in a much larger subset of the population that is marginally sociopathic, weak in their human values.
Bad behaviour breeds bad behaviour, and those who profit by it find ways to justify this through self-serving social and political theories, to themselves and to others.
And the pity is that people who have this variation in their character, either through nature or nutrure or both, as in the case of psychopaths and sociopaths, are naturally attracted to high profile positions of power.
If they ever speak frankly about their view of things amongst their confidants, the normal person would be stunned by their distorted world view, often writing off large segments of the population as unworthy and disposable, for the most part because they impede their desires, although they will often ascribe it to some irreparable defect in these others, making them unworthy of life.
Psychopaths breed and nurture sociopaths, imitators who are able to extinguish their own empathy and remorse through ideology and excess including violence, sex, and drugs.
What would you do to protect your children from people like this? Throughout history people have banded together in order to establish and maintain the rule of law against the tyranny of a few.
This is why romantic notions about markets and societies without law and transparent regulation are so harmful. They turn the power of the markets and the laws over to the least scrupulous and self-controlled in a society. This is why any social system without checks and balances, without transparency and restraints, will eventually deteriorate into a dysfunctional system of self-interest and looting.
People are not perfectly rational angels. It is hard to believe that one must say that to an adult audience, but ideology and conditioning can make people blind to their own faults. ‘Men go mad in herds, but come back to their senses, one at a time.’
Society is generally based on consumption, production, and cooperation. A system that has become tainted by the sickness of the disordered mind and soul is based on debt, coercion and extraction, serving only money, power, and itself.
What then are we to do?
Do not spend your time trying to look into the minds and hearts of others at a distance, saying this one or that one is clearly disordered and evil, calling them out for it. Rather, look first into your own imperfectly human heart, and find the fear, selfishness, envy and greed within.
And with open eyes, having seen this inhuman behaviour for what it is, acknowledge it, bring it under your control, subdue it and extinguish it by having remorse for past wrongs, and a sincere desire to act up to your light, more fully and wholly human, in the future.
Put more simply in the words that echo down the long halls of history, see your sins, acknowledge them, repent and ask for forgiveness, ask for the strength to act up to your light, and then go and sin no more. For if the seeds of wickedness and inhuman behaviour are stilled within you, then the madness that roams the world like a roaring lion will not find a way to steal your humanity and your heart.
And that time is coming, always and again.
“And this is why theories that assume that everyone has a basic world outlook that is the same like you, that all people have a natural desire to be friendly, helpful, and sharing falter out of either a good nature or from a good maximizing, selflessly reasoning behaviour, falter so badly when applied to the real world.”
I don’t quite get this. I can’t tell what he’s trying to say.
I read a long time ago from studies that even recidivist killers, rapist think they are good people (I am amazed at that). Also, when robbing a liquor store and killing the person behind the counter, the killers state that they have to kill the counter person before he kills them – they automatically believe others think as they do.
The above is just info; I cannot help you with understanding the authors message, as I also think the message is not only unclear but contradictory.
Ed,
Social constructs (Theories) based upon the “good nature” of human beings always fail because humans are not truly good natured at heart.
That’s how I read it.
The muddled, run-on sentence/paragraph I pasted makes no sense to me. The guy needs an editor, and an English course or two..
Think of the Anne Frank quote, “I keep my ideals, because in spite of everything I still believe that people are really good at heart.”
You remember how that worked out for her.
“And this is why theories that assume that everyone has a basic world outlook that is the same as yours—that all people have a natural desire to be friendly, helpful, and sharing falter out of either a good nature or from a good maximizing, selflessly reasoning behaviour—falter so badly when applied to the real world.”
The first part of his message is clear
Not everyone thinks like you so their assumptions and rationale for certain behaviors may not even come to your awareness
The second part is confusing
Overall the message is clear and powerful
Before criticizing others, look at yourself to see if you have similar qualities
In order to recognize others’ faults and weaknesses, we usually have the same
This is not to remove blame for those whose quest for power serves their desire for happiness and fulfillment
The fact that powerful people base their actions on different and flawed beliefs, in no way justifies their evil actions
I can say unequivocally that the BLM crowd and the Progressive crowd don’t think like me. That’s all I need to know to steer clear of them and to make damn sure that I NEVER give up my guns in order to ensure mine and my families safety/security .
I get it mercy empathy that envokes a charitable response requires advanced mental capicity and the ability to render assistance to those in need . That ability is only developed thru a selfish action of attaining and retaining enough for ones own security and safety then the individual tempered with intellect can be giving to others with measured conservation to ones own need . We do not starve ourselves so others may eat ! We should also not hoard plenty especially thru a system of checks and balances that many have been able to play by hook or crook for their own enrichment while cheating others of even a modest share . In applying these thoughts to us today , obviously our rule of law has broken down to serve the few at the expense of the many and any peaceful demands for correcting this now institutionalized injustice “TAX CODE” anyone and a court system that allows organized theft “BANKRUPTCY VERSES PENSION PLANS” that were underfunded wink wink nod nod . It will not be pitchforks and torches this time when people finally become desperate and hungry watch out !
Anybody who thinks all people are at heart well-meaning, kind, friendly and “nice” (oh, how I hate that silly Americanism!) needs to spend a few decades in the national security apparatus. Mike Morrell, the vicious fraud who recently came out against Trump, is a textbook example. Even his face looks like he hasn’t taken a dump in 20 years.
Or spend a ‘short’ time with ISIS, Boko Haram, U.S. Regime Change bombing, etc.
Ayn Rand’s favorite Nietzsche quote was: “The noble soul has reverence for itself”.
But then again, Ayn advised us to always “check our premises”.
Go figure.
“This is why romantic notions about markets and societies without law and transparent regulation are so harmful. They turn the power of the markets and the laws over to the least scrupulous and self-controlled in a society.”
how do we know until, at least in a modern techno/industrial society, it has been tried? certainly the reverse is not working.
Boat Guy
I agree with you
We must first attend to our needs before helping others
The famous statement in the Jewish scriptures: “If I am not for myself, who will be for me?
If I am only for myself, what am I?”
Jesus does a much better job.
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”
He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’”
“You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”
In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
“Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”
The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”
Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”
You notice how Jesus didn’t correct him and say, ‘No, you missed it completely, everyone is your neighbor, the thieves, the Levite, the Rabbi, everyone deserves your love, not just the people who treat you with kindness…”
He made a distinction between people, separated the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. And he allowed the expert in the law to figure it out on his own without prompting him.
Like I said earlier it doesn’t take a genius to discern the difference between a good dog and a dangerous dog and it happens in the blink of an eye. With humans we’ve been so deeply indoctrinated for so long to ignore our own judgment and prejudices that we can’t even discern when we have a deranged psychopath running for President.
Something like that.
The challenge is that many psychopaths / sociopaths have great “people skills” and are tough to sort out until they stick the knife in your back. Bill Clinton is a great example; he has managed to convince FEMINISTS that he is a person who cares about women, despite evidence indicating he is at least a rapist, adulterer and possibly a molester (referring to his flights with the pedophile Jeffrey Epstein).
This is FACT, demonstrated in multiple instances, and his evil wife is at least an enabler of these crimes (in addition to her own); how can this be explained?
Evil men can have charisma, personality and even charm, when they wish it; and people tend to trust their own “radar” to alert them to criminals. But some criminals are really rare; there are thousands of brutal, thievish men with corrosive, abrasive personalities and ONLY A FEW who could charm your socks off while stealing you blind, raping your child and causing your own pain. Apparently Bill is one of these, but you keep saying to yourself “That’s not who he is!” because you don’t really know who he is and can’t believe he misled you so.
Although just maybe this time the country has figured out who Hillary is, and may be proof against the cronies, the bought-off media and the liars in both parties who are pushing her candidacy. Having two serial liars and sociopaths running for highest office sequentially may have been too tough an act to pull off. We’ll know in November.
From the article:
“Do not spend your time trying to look into the minds and hearts of others at a distance, saying this one or that one is clearly disordered and evil, calling them out for it. Rather, look first into your own imperfectly human heart, and find the fear, selfishness, envy and greed within.
And with open eyes, having seen this inhuman behaviour for what it is, acknowledge it, bring it under your control, subdue it and extinguish it by having remorse for past wrongs, and a sincere desire to act up to your light, more fully and wholly human, in the future.”
I call BULLSHIT!
I worked for a psychopath during my time at DHS. There was no way she could be countered or controlled — and standing up to her served to accomplish nothing but add a big fat target on my back. End result, I challenged her and then quit. Thus began my choice to give up working for anyone other than myself and family on our small farm. I have been in touch with colleagues through the years — there has been a trail of others who followed my path.
But for those who have never worked for a psychopath, try doing this proposed ‘self reflection’ with a Muslim nutjob hellbent on living in a 7th century barbarian world, or with anyone in or networking with the Obama/Clinton regime.