Most politicians are sociopaths

The premise of this article is that persons who seek and hold elective office have latent, and often overt sociopathic personalities.

The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition, DSM IV-TR = 301.7, a widely used manual for diagnosing mental disorders, defines ”antisocial personality disorder” as:¹

A) There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years, as indicated by three or more of the following:

1. failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest;

2. deception, as indicated by repeatedly lying, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure;

3. impulsiveness or failure to plan ahead;

4. irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults;

5. reckless disregard for safety of self or others;

6. consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations;

7. lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another;

B) The individual is at least age 18 years.

C) There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years.

D) The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or a manic episode.

Now, I’m going to list those characteristics again, and give examples in bold print after each characteristic. Some of this will be tongue-in-cheek, but that doesn’t mean it’s not true:

A) There is a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15 years (runs for Student Council, runs for Class President, editor of the school newspaper, becomes an attorney, etc.), as indicated by three or more of the following:

1. failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest (voting to violate the US or state constitution is a criminal act);

2. deception, as indicated by repeatedly lying (campaign pledges), or conning others for personal profit or pleasure;

3. impulsiveness or failure to plan ahead (voting for any bill without reading it, voting to spend tax money on unconstitutional acts, or raising the Federal debt ceiling to allow Washington to borrow more money it cannot repay);

4. irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults (in election season, going negative to destroy political opponents);

5. reckless disregard for safety of self or others (allowing the Department of Homeland Security and the TSA to even exist, voting for anything that violates the 2nd Amendment, 4th Amendment, 5th Amendment…pretty much any of the Amendments in the Bill of Rights);

6. consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain consistent work behavior or honor financial obligations (a history of employment in government, spending tax money profligately, failing to pass balanced budgets, hiding off-budget spending, using government accounting principles instead of GAAP²);

7. lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another (running for re-election);
B) The individual is at least age 18 years.
C) There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years.
D) The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of schizophrenia or a manic episode.

You see? Most politicians are sociopaths. You’d be hard pressed to find one that isn’t.

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