Dignity Violators

Posted on June 11, 2013 by Ian | disorderedworld

Donna Hicks is a leading professional in the field of international conflict resolution. During her decades of work trying to reconcile warring parties around the world, she realised that conflict resolution negotiations were often marred by the presence of a powerful emotional undercurrent – a force which could erupt at any moment and destroy the negotiations. She eventually came to understand that destructive force as being rooted in violations of human dignity. Continue reading →

Is Progress Inevitable?

Posted on May 29, 2013 by Ian | disorderedworld

I’m just back from the MatchPoints Seminar on ‘The Culture of Politics, Economics and International Relations’, in Aarhus, Denmark, where I gave a presentation on ‘Culture as Defence against Pathological Elites’. A number of interesting questions came up again and again over the four days of the conference. Is progress inevitable? Are human rights a western invention? Does modernisation have to mean westernisation? Continue reading →

Cultural Tyranny

Posted on May 18, 2013 by Ian | disorderedworld

The biggest danger to our rights today is not from government acting against the will of the majority but from government which has become the mere instrument of this majority…. Wrong will be done as much by an all-powerful people as by an all-powerful prince.

James Madison

When psychopaths and people with other dangerous personality disorders hold power, the result is political tyranny. Continue reading →

Pakistan Matters

Posted on May 13, 2013 by Ian | disorderedworld

This week’s election in Pakistan marks the first transfer of power from one democratically elected civilian government to another in the country’s 66-year history. The challenge for new prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, is to build on this landmark event and create a peaceful democratic society in Pakistan. He will find that holding elections was the easy bit. Continue reading →

Our Disordered World

Posted on May 5, 2013 by Ian | disorderedworld

A brief journey around the world shows just how much damage people with dangerous personality disorders continue to inflict upon us, and highlights the extent to which the cultures of violence and greed imposed by this dangerous minority are accepted by the rest of us as ‘normal’.

Russia

Stalin and the brutal legacy of the Soviet Communists have left Russia today suffering from a deep crisis of hope. Continue reading →

Seven Pillars of Freedom

Posted on April 24, 2013 by Ian | disorderedworld

History is the story of the struggle of the psychologically normal majority of humanity to free ourselves from the tyranny of a psychologically disordered minority who are marked by their innate propensity for violence and greed. In this long struggle, previous generations have crafted seven essential safeguards to protect us against rule by tyranny – the following seven pillars of freedom.

1. The Rule of Law

The very concept of civilisation is almost synonymous with the rule of law. Continue reading →

Psychology of Power – Thatcher’s Legacy

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Ian | disorderedworld

Britain’s former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was a central figure in neoliberalism, which has dominated western capitalism for decades. Her death provides an opportunity to reflect on an economic doctrine that glorifies human greed and led directly to the current economic crisis. Continue reading →