‘Evil Genes’ has useful lessons for TT

Most of us have probably encountered malicious persons, most likely in office settings, and sometimes in our own families. These are not people who commit acts of malice once in a while, but individuals whose very lives seem driven by spite, deceit, and emotional instability. And most of us have, at some point or another, asked, “How can they BE like that?”

Bioengineer Barbara Oakley’s book, which is subtitled Why Rome Fell, Hitler Rose, Enron Failed, and My Sister Stole My Mother’s Boyfriend, provides a cogent, multi-layered answer to this query. Combining the latest data from genetics, neurology, and psychiatry, Oakley creates portraits and explanations of persons she describes as “successfully sinister”, ranging from famous psychopaths such as Hitler and Slobodan Milosevic to her deceased younger sister, whose diary provides a disturbing and sometimes moving background story to Oakley’s analysis.

From psychiatry, Oakley describes a condition called anti-social personality disorder, which must have at least three of the following traits: failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviour; deceitfulness; impulsivity or failure to plan ahead; irritability and aggressiveness (getting into fights); reckless disregard for the safety of others; consistent irresponsibility; and lack of remorse. This seems to describe many members of certain communities in Trinidad.

She also talks about identity disturbance, which is characterised by role absorption – the tendency to define oneself in terms of a single role, label or reference group; inconsistency in behaviour, like a man promoting fidelity while being promiscuous; and black-and-white thinking – seeing all issues in absolute terms. Again, these traits certainly seem relevant to certain persons in Trinidad and Tobago.

And does the following description bring any national figure to mind? “If a given individual seems most interested in vilifying others, proceeds to characterise his own in-group as having been unduly victimised, is ruthlessly vindictive, and finally, is discovered to have cosy, self-serving financial deals, there are reasonable grounds to assume that a person is more than a little Machiavellian and that his or her leadership may be aimed more toward self than public service,” Oakley says.

Oakley devotes one chapter to her emotionally unstable sister, Carolyn, who took advantage of her parents financially, vanished for ten years with no communication, re-appeared without warning, and seduced her mother’s rich boyfriend who was 30 years older than herself. Another chapter looks at Milosevic and the relevant psychological analysis for his personality. One interesting detail here is that Milosevic’s wife was probably also psychopathic, and they had a long-term and very passionate relationship.

In respect to both national leaders and petty bureaucrats – Oakley says a key question is “How did these seeming psychopaths get to the top? How could they fool and manipulate people so easily?” Her short answer is that normal human beings have a propensity to trust others, which makes normal human beings vulnerable to the successfully sinister.

“Highly successful Machiavellians appear to lurk on every human population. With their extraordinary ability to stack any deck in their favour, their relentless need for control, and their self-serving ruthlessness, those with at least a modicum of talent, looks, and assertiveness are more likely to be found in positions of power,” she writes. Machiavellian types often act very differently toward their superiors (and are often very charming) than to their subordinates.

So what can be done? “Protection can be had by simply being aware of these deeply deceitful chameleons,” says Oakley, noting that “Gossip can be surprisingly helpful here”, since people will have very different opinions of a particular individual. And, at the political level, democracy and free speech also helps sound warnings about would-be dictators.

All of which contains useful lessons for TT.