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Davi Barker of The Black Sale joins us to discuss his book, Authoritarian Sociopathy. We talk about the various psychological experiments that have been done in the past to show people’s propensity to obey or disobey authority, and Barker proposes his own experiment that could take this research even further.
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SHOW NOTES:
The Black Sale
Davi Barker – Authoritarian Sociopathy – Libertopia 2013
The TSA Is A Milgram Experiment
Interview 1421 – Bruce Levine on Resisting Illegitimate Authority
EMPATHY
The more similar an organism to myself the more I will empathize; I have an easier time eating beef than monkey meat. If somebody that is very similar to me suffers, I have an easy time putting myself in their shoes. Because it could happen to me it is important that I pay close attention. Trump will never be in my shoes so the suffering of a dog is more meaningful to him.
I was surprised to come across a poll at Derrick Broze’s website asking if he should run for mayor of Houston. A sliver of his readership clicked a majority vote in support of his running; a combined “No” and “Hell No, You Sell Out!” (my vote) still falls short of those in favor, which I find incredible. I don’t think he’d stand a chance anyway, but in an imaginary scenario, I do believe the disturbing tendencies noted in Davi Barker’s book would soon manifest.
Question: in the experiment where the two groups of authority were asked to describe a previously held position of either “legitimate” or “illegitimate” authority, were any of those situations described? Unless any of the subjects were already of an anarchist bent, it would be very difficult to recall a time of illegitimate authority. Off the top of my head, I can’t think of such a position, except “Oh, yeah, that time I was head of the neighborhood drug ring – I feel kinda bad about smashing Vito’s kneecaps.”
Great conversation. Funny thing happened yesterday, I attended a superior court session with a friend for a fine reduction motion and after the judge seated herself she made a declaration as to possible conflicts of interest as she had worked for the prosecutor’s office previously and her husband was currently working for that same office and if anyone had any protestations this was the time to make a motion. This was very interesting as just for a smirking wink wink moment she had to prostrate herself unto an authority greater than herself, the robe had been lifted, and for a fleeting second the overwhelming contextual truth paved a path for consideration of empathy for the human element in the meat-grinder of the parasitic justice system. People say that it is always best to be first on the docket while the judge is in reasonable spirits and ot turned out great for my friend, fines reduced from 8k to 2k with the mark of the crown’s agent and 19 pages of documents pre-completed. It’s not making money it’s losing less when exposed to government entities.
“It is difficult for men in high office to avoid the malady of self-delusion. They are always surrounded by worshipers. They are constantly, and for the most part sincerely, assured of their greatness. They live in an artificial atmosphere of adulation and exaltation which sooner or later impairs their judgment. They are in grave danger of becoming careless and arrogant.”
–President Calvin Coolidge
I talked about this proposed experiment back in 2017 on AM talk radio. I hope they do it. In my version the cop or civilian was beating up an old lady, with the hypothesis that people would not intervene on the old ladies behalf when the cop is doing the beating, but would with the civilian.
I’d like to suggest that a cost effective method of observing some of these sociopathic behaviors in a natural environment would be simply to observe the daily operations at your local Department of Motor Vehicles, where petty officials brandish their “authority” and the victims willingly line up and watch others be robbed and bureaucratically abused. In speaking with a security guard at the DMV recently, he spoke of the absoulute hell it was to work there, as the abuse that emanated from behind the governmental desk was not only given to the public, but also filtered down the differing strata of employees, and the rage that was often generated thereby led to violence, hence the need for a security guard. ( And a poster on the wall warning of the consequences of threatening a public employee.)
This was such a fascinating conversation. Thanks for the food for thought. I have some thoughts about the terms discussed here. Steven Porges, a neuroscientists, distinguishes empathy from compassion. He notes that neurologically, when feeling or expressing empathy one is using the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight). He defines compassion by the use of the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest). I wonder if there is a way to define neurologically (which neurological state sympathetic or parasympathetic) sociopathic behavior utilizes? If so, is there a measurable differnece of those in power sympathetically and therefore empathically responding from those parasympathetically and therefore compassionately responding? Ultimately is there a measurable difference between those in power responding sociopathically from those compassionately.. since compassion would not elicit an autonomic behavioral response? Do people who act with compassion seek positions of power? Do those who neurologically present more sociopathically seek positions of power over those empathetic or compassionate ones? So many questions can be derived from this concept. Excited to hear more.
bharani
I agree!
I have already watched this twice.
There are a lot of important insights.
I plan to review the video for a third time.
This is a 5 STAR interview!
*****
I too am excited to hear more. I offer my little city as a fertile laboratory for the two needed types in leadership that Kinetics suggests for study.
Can you imagine the absurdity of a technician approaching a billionaire Zionist bank owner and suggesting “he be part of a study.” of course he will ask what are you studying? You know what he is going to say after a pregnant phase…”get T.. F… out!”
I have a long list of one type and a much shorter list of the other type if anyone cares to pursue it.