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Reading books on the subject, such as the excellent work by MarthaStout, Ph.D., The Sociopath Next Door, provides tools and tests which you can use personally. Dr.Stout, a practicing psychologist and clinical instructor in the department of psychiatry at HarvardMedicalSchool, warns the reader to beware of those who fail the simple tests she outlines. Three lies and you're out is one of simple suggestions she proposes.
In dealing with the overall problem Stout raises other questions which are profoundly on point for all of us today.
On the question of war: Should sociopaths be tolerated as useful in time of war? Are we intentionally allowing psychopaths into the military? Perhaps recruiting them?
Has our tolerance and ignorance smoothed the path for ugly behavior in other parts of our culture? What would a psychopath do if elected to office; if they were the determining factor in deciding what matters, their profit or your health?
Have we considered the dangers the unchallenged presence of psychopaths present when combined with the tendency in most of us to defer to authority?
If winning is the only thing that matters there is nothing a sociopath will not do. Recognizing no limits, psychopaths ignore the damage to others. As any small, determined group can change the world for the good, as MargaretMead said, so a small number of individuals could destroy it. We need, therefore, to limit the access of psychopaths to power while identifying them to the public.
A short tour through the books and the Aftermath: Surviving Psychopathy site raises questions which may well open up a new understanding of ourselves. As individuals, parents, activists and businesspersons, as well as Americans, we need to know.
This is the first in a series of articles by the author about psychopathy and how we can solve the problems it presents. Thanks to DavidKosson, Ph.D., for his help in generously providing information and for his editing. - MP-F
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