Psychopathology And Politics

First published in 1930, this classic study of personality types remains vital for the understanding of contemporary public figures. Lasswell's pioneering application of the concepts of clinical psychology to the understanding of powerbrokers in politics, business, and even the church offers insights into the careers of leaders as diverse as Adolf Hitler and Richard Nixon.

First published in 1930, this classic study of personality types remains vital for the understanding of contemporary public figures. The author's pioneering application of the concepts of clinical psychology to the understanding of powerbrokers in politics, business, and even the church offers insights into the careers of leaders as diverse as Adolf Hitler and Richard Nixon.

Psychopathology and Politics by Harold D. Lasswell is a study of personality types as they relate to politicians, business leaders, and church officials. First published in 1930, the work applies the concepts of clinical psychology to the future prediction and prevention of societal and political conflict. Born in 1902 to a schoolteacher mother and clergyman father, Lasswell was devoted to scholarship and philosophy from a young age. He dedicated his life to studying, teaching, and writing about the intersection of political science, psychology, and sociology. Lasswell received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1926. His dissertation, Propaganda Technique in the World War, analyzed the various government "information" campaigns of WWI. This expertise in propaganda would later lead to Lasswell's appointment as Chief of the Experimental Division for the Study of War Time Communications at the Library of Congress during WWII. His role was to review and evaluate Nazi propaganda films to understand how their persuasion methods earned the Nazis the support of the German people. Upon completing his Ph.D., Lasswell became an Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Chicago. Shortly after, he began work on Psychopathology and Politics, the first of over 30 books he would write over the next 45 years. The book argues that we must have insight into the hidden motivations and impulses of societal leaders in order to channel the desire to lead into healthy expression. Lasswell uses case studies to explore how early experiences inform the opinions that leaders hold later in life. As an example, we follow the preacher "A" through his childhood, youth, and adulthood. We learn about A's intense competition with his brother for their father's affection in childhood. And we're told that this is the cause of A's support for socialism. Looking after one's "brother" is compensation for his own fraternal dislike. Instead of relying on politicians to resolve conflict, Lasswell argues that it should be the purview of political psychologists to prevent it altogether by "reducing the strain and maladaptation in society." The "politics of prevention," he theorized, would require intense auditing of the effects of politics upon the politicians. For example, "When a judge has been on the bench thirty years, what manner of man has he become? When an agitator has been agitating for thirty years, what has happened to him?" After WWII, Lasswell became a Professor of Law and Political Science at Yale Law School and served as the President of the American Political Science Association and continued to write dozens of books and hundreds of scholarly articles. In one of these works, he pioneered the "five-questions model of communication." Also known as the Lasswell Communication Model, it requires identifying and analyzing each of the following five questions: Who (says) What (to) Whom (in) What Channel (with) What Effect This model is still in use in the studies of communication and public relations. Lasswell's works are still studied today. After his death in 1978, political scientist Gabriel Almond said that Lasswell "ranked among the half dozen creative innovators in the social sciences in the twentieth century."

Inspired by Freud’s The Psychopathology of Everyday Life, this book examines the unconscious processes shaping contemporary political ideologies. Addressing ten fundamental questions, Robert Samuels identifies four basic political ideologies: liberal, conservative, Left, and Right, which are often placed in the structure of a logical square, determined by two binary oppositions, with a fifth structure of centrism complicating the square. He turns to psychoanalysis to explain the unconscious defense mechanisms that structure these political ideologies. Each chapter uses a recent, influential title as a gateway to the analysis of the ideologies and structures identified. Through this analysis, Samuels argues that belief in ideological structures is tied to triumvirates of institutions and ideals; conservatives being tied to premodern institutions of religion, feudalism, and monarchy, while modern liberals are tied to ideals of universality, objectivity, and empiricism. He concludes that this investment in universality shapes the ethics of modern globalization and democratic liberalism. Unlike other books, conclusions are reinforced through examples drawn from current events with an integrated model of different psychopathologies. The Psychopathology of Political Ideologies moves beyond providing an understanding of what drives different political investments, to offer a more rational and conscious comprehension of subjectivity and social organization. This book will be a great resource for those interested in politics, political science psychology, social psychology, globalization, and ideology.

This unique work looks at the relationship between psychopathology and world politics. What happens when the brain/mind ceases to function properly? How does this impinge on world affairs? What is to be done, for example, when a leader ceases to act in a seemingly sane fashion and yet still commands the loyalty of those who maintain him or her in office? What is to be done when a leader''s advisers seem rational but are clearly not? Indeed, what is to be done when a whole society goes insane? This is to raise more questions than a single work can adequately answer. In lieu of a comprehensive account, which would be beyond the scope of one study, what this book does is first describe psychopathology in general terms and its relationship to world affairs. It then looks at denial in particular and at OC speaking the truthOCO as a potentially therapeutic antidote, especially in relation to nuclear weapons. It follows this by looking at delusion in general and at what being OC in touchOCO with reality might entail with regard to a so-called OC failed stateOCO. With topics ranging from Hitler''s mental health to the continuing threat of nuclear Armageddon, this book is a valuable contribution to the field of international politics and modern psychology, and will hopefully lead to a better understanding of contemporary world affairs and the global issue of conflict resolution.

This book concerns the wanting, getting, and giving of power. Recent advances in medicine, sociology, and psychology have deepened our understanding of the motives, skills, and experience that operate between leaders and those who are led. Since power is about decision-making, it figures not only in offi cial institutions but in other organizations, including political parties, pressure groups, trade associations, business enterprises, trade unions, and many other types of organizations.A general theory of the political personality is set forth here. Lasswell describes the process by which power becomes a value of first importance and the way appropriate skills in exercising power are acquired. He shows that special political types such as agitators or administrators are related to basic types of character that contribute to how they lead. Finally, his analysis offers original perspectives to understand democratic leadership.Lasswell offers definite suggestions for perfecting self-observatories in national and world affairs and for forming democratic personalities, selecting and training democratic leaders, and reducing destructive conflicts in human relationships. Power and Personality followed the author's 1930 work Psychopathology and Politics, which was widely hailed for its pioneering approach. Power and Personality reevaluated the entire issue of the relationship between psychology and politics in the light of subsequent experience and scientific developments since publication of that earlier work. Lasswell's ideas continue to carry great weight and persuasiveness.

Politics: Who Gets What, When, How, which was first published in 1936, is the classic analysis of power and manipulation by ruling elites and counter-elites. The themes that occur throughout this essay have become the guideposts for most modern research in techniques of propaganda and political organization. “It is unquestionably one of the most influential treatments of politics published in this century.”—David B. Truman, Prof.of Public Law and Government, Columbia University “This book is a landmark of modern political science.”—Daniel Lerner, Professor of Sociology, M.I.T. “For over three decades the students of politics have had their intellectual horizons constantly broadened by Harold Lasswell. There is probably no man in American political science who has brought to bear as many new approaches to the analysis of political behaviour as he has. There is perhaps no better way to get the essence of Lasswell’s thought than in his book, Politics: Who Gets What, When, How.”—Seymour Martin Lipset, Department of Sociology, U.C. Berkeley

Excerpt from The Political Writings of Harold D. Lasswell: Psychopathology and Politics; Politics: Who Gets What, When, How; Democratic Character When we contemplate the ebb and flow of public life, it is possible to make sense Of it as marking the rise or fall Of social classes, or skill groups, or attitude groups, or personality types. If we think of politics from a manipulative standpoint, it is appropriate to consider the strategy and tactics of handling violence, goods, symbols, and practices. The succinct and abundant examples used in the Politics made it comprehensible to students and laymen alike. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.