Government of Sociopaths

Government of Sociopaths: "The real subject of this is not Medicare or the Stimulus plan—it’s long term thinking.

We did not suddenly go to sleep and then wake up the next day with a political class that acted this way. Or with CEO’s that act this way. The erosion of long term thinking is progressive. It begins slowly before becoming pervasive.

Lack of long term thinking manifests itself as a lack of responsibility. The difference is not in intelligence. Very intelligent people show no grasp of responsibility and no understanding of consequences. ‘Stupid’ behavior by intelligent people is often a symptom of that. Sociopaths, who often have very high IQ’s, yet a poor understanding of consequences, are at the farthest limit of that category.

What explains this behavior? Socialization and empathy. Sociopaths are often quite bright, but it is the company of other people that makes us fully human. Sociopaths are too detached from other people to be able to rationally calculate long term consequences in a social context. They"