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Political Ponerology: The Science of Evil, Psychopathy, and the Origins of Totalitarianism
REVISED, EXPANDED EDITION
The first manuscript of this book was thrown into the fire just minutes before a secret police raid in Communist Poland.
The second copy was personally delivered to a contact inside the Vatican, only to mysteriously vanish.
The third was pieced together in 1980s New York by the last surviving member of an underground research team, only to be banned from publication...
Until now.
Forged in the crucible of totalitarianism, Political Ponerology is written by psychiatrist Dr. Andrew M. Lobaczewski, who draws on his experience and clinical insight during the decades he spent under the crushing heel of the Nazi and Communist regimes.
Decades ahead of its time, and brimming with unique insights and depth of vision, Political Ponerology explores a genus of highly adapted and charming psychopaths who bend political parties, institutions, and media to their depraved worldview, dividing and hypnotizing entire populations, and paving a virtuous path to genocide, mass repression, and gulags.
From the darkness of past regimes, Political Ponerology brings you the keys to understanding and protecting yourself from today’s spellbinding ideologues, and tomorrow’s dictators.
This new edition has been extensively revised and expanded, the translation improved and annotated with the latest supporting research, examples, and new material previously unavailable in English.
"Essential reading for concerned thinkers and all sufferers of past and present totalitarianism." —Michael Rectenwald, author of Google Archipelago and Springtime for Snowflakes
"Fascinating, essential reading." —Philip Zimbardo, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Stanford University, and author of The Lucifer Effect
The first manuscript of this book was thrown into the fire just minutes before a secret police raid in Communist Poland.
The second copy was personally delivered to a contact inside the Vatican, only to mysteriously vanish.
The third was pieced together in 1980s New York by the last surviving member of an underground research team, only to be banned from publication...
Until now.
Forged in the crucible of totalitarianism, Political Ponerology is written by psychiatrist Dr. Andrew M. Lobaczewski, who draws on his experience and clinical insight during the decades he spent under the crushing heel of the Nazi and Communist regimes.
Decades ahead of its time, and brimming with unique insights and depth of vision, Political Ponerology explores a genus of highly adapted and charming psychopaths who bend political parties, institutions, and media to their depraved worldview, dividing and hypnotizing entire populations, and paving a virtuous path to genocide, mass repression, and gulags.
From the darkness of past regimes, Political Ponerology brings you the keys to understanding and protecting yourself from today’s spellbinding ideologues, and tomorrow’s dictators.
This new edition has been extensively revised and expanded, the translation improved and annotated with the latest supporting research, examples, and new material previously unavailable in English.
"Essential reading for concerned thinkers and all sufferers of past and present totalitarianism." —Michael Rectenwald, author of Google Archipelago and Springtime for Snowflakes
"Fascinating, essential reading." —Philip Zimbardo, Professor Emeritus of Psychology, Stanford University, and author of The Lucifer Effect
695 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2006
352 people are currently reading
1769 people want to read
About the author
Andrew M. Lobaczewski
1 book27 followersDate of Birth: 1921
Date of Death: 2007
Andrew M. Lobaczewski was born in 1921 and grew up on a rural estate in the beautiful pied mountain vicinity of Poland. Under the Nazi occupation he worked on the farm, was an apiarist, and then a soldier of the Home Army, an underground Polish resistance organization. After the Soviet invasion of Poland, the family estate was confiscated and the owners driven out from their old house.
Working hard for a living, he studied psychology at Yagiello-nian University in Cracow. The conditions under “Communist” rule turned his attention to the matters of psychopathology, especially to the role of psychopathic persons in such a governmental system. He was not the first such researcher who followed a similar path.
The work was begun by a secret understanding of scientists of the older generation, which was destroyed shortly after by the Red security authorities. Lobaczewski then later became the one who succeeded in accomplishing the work and putting it down on paper.
Working in a mental hospital, than a general hospital, and in open mental health service, the author improved his skills in clinical diagnosis and psychotherapy. Finally, when suspected by the political authorities of knowing too much in the matter of the pathological nature of the system, he was forced to emigrate in 1977. In the USA he became engulfed by the activity of the long paws of the Red diversion. Instead of his very hard times, the work presented now was written in New York in 1984. All attempts to publish this book at this time failed.
With broken health, he returned in 1990 to Poland and went under the care of doctors, his old friends. His condition improved gradually, and he became able to work and to publish other works in matters of psychotherapy and socio-psychology. He passed away in November of 2007.
Date of Death: 2007
Andrew M. Lobaczewski was born in 1921 and grew up on a rural estate in the beautiful pied mountain vicinity of Poland. Under the Nazi occupation he worked on the farm, was an apiarist, and then a soldier of the Home Army, an underground Polish resistance organization. After the Soviet invasion of Poland, the family estate was confiscated and the owners driven out from their old house.
Working hard for a living, he studied psychology at Yagiello-nian University in Cracow. The conditions under “Communist” rule turned his attention to the matters of psychopathology, especially to the role of psychopathic persons in such a governmental system. He was not the first such researcher who followed a similar path.
The work was begun by a secret understanding of scientists of the older generation, which was destroyed shortly after by the Red security authorities. Lobaczewski then later became the one who succeeded in accomplishing the work and putting it down on paper.
Working in a mental hospital, than a general hospital, and in open mental health service, the author improved his skills in clinical diagnosis and psychotherapy. Finally, when suspected by the political authorities of knowing too much in the matter of the pathological nature of the system, he was forced to emigrate in 1977. In the USA he became engulfed by the activity of the long paws of the Red diversion. Instead of his very hard times, the work presented now was written in New York in 1984. All attempts to publish this book at this time failed.
With broken health, he returned in 1990 to Poland and went under the care of doctors, his old friends. His condition improved gradually, and he became able to work and to publish other works in matters of psychotherapy and socio-psychology. He passed away in November of 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 52 reviews
July 30, 2012
This book holds information in it that every man, woman, and child on this planet needs to understand; 4-6% of our worlds population are born without conscience. This fundamental deficit in a minority of the population allows our global tragedy to continue unabated.
Our lack of awareness is also a contributing factor. If we properly understood that some people are without conscience we'd protect our society, eliminating them from positions of power, identifying their pseudologic and twisting of words, preventing it from causing damage.
As it is right now, we have major news networks that spew forth psychological bacteria on a daily basis and no one seems to notice.
Properly understood, this tome acts to innoculate the reader against narcissism and conversive thinking, the two major components of consciencelessness.
A Must Read.
Our lack of awareness is also a contributing factor. If we properly understood that some people are without conscience we'd protect our society, eliminating them from positions of power, identifying their pseudologic and twisting of words, preventing it from causing damage.
As it is right now, we have major news networks that spew forth psychological bacteria on a daily basis and no one seems to notice.
Properly understood, this tome acts to innoculate the reader against narcissism and conversive thinking, the two major components of consciencelessness.
A Must Read.
August 31, 2021
Imagine searching through the vaults of the secret police in some future dystopia. You find a tattered volume among the files that immediately strikes your interest. You begin to read, and it tells the story of a secret group of scientists unsympathetic to the regime in power. These men and women risked their lives to understand and diagnose the sickness of their society, the pathology of the leaders subjugating their populace. Not only did they identify the root causes of the evil that plagued their government and society, they gave knowledge necessary to make a change, all in rich, scientific detail. But the Party got hold if it. The public never got to read it.
This is what it felt like reading this book, because it's essentially true. Andrew Lobaczewski was one of a group of scientists in Eastern Europe operating during the Soviets' harsh regime. They literally diagnosed their leaders - as psychopaths - and described how and why they came to power, in clinical detail. But slowly they were either killed or 'disappeared', or otherwise taken care of. Dr. Lobaczewski escaped with his life, and his manuscript, but it would be twenty-odd years before it was published. Thank God it was.
This book was a revelation for me. So many of its sections, even single sentences, contain so much substance and truth that it's almost overwhelming. Lobaczewski describes social cycles, psychopathic types, dangerous cognitive errors, pathological systems of government, religion and science, and introduces new terms for concepts that may have been previously described, but only in vague terms, like 'pathocracy', 'ponerization', 'ponerology', 'ponerogenic unions' and others. The book is dense, but the subject matter is dense. It requires close reading, and every page contains insight and clarity. It delves into the darkest of subject matter - murder, oppression, genocide, torture, black propaganda, total inhumanity - with precision and conscience.
Ponerology literally means the study of evil. Political Ponerology (*****) expands the study to the realm of politics, where psychopaths can affect billions. I'd say it's one of the top five most important books ever written. It'll never leave my bookshelf, and even though I've read it a handful of times, I expect I'll read it many more times in the future.
This is what it felt like reading this book, because it's essentially true. Andrew Lobaczewski was one of a group of scientists in Eastern Europe operating during the Soviets' harsh regime. They literally diagnosed their leaders - as psychopaths - and described how and why they came to power, in clinical detail. But slowly they were either killed or 'disappeared', or otherwise taken care of. Dr. Lobaczewski escaped with his life, and his manuscript, but it would be twenty-odd years before it was published. Thank God it was.
This book was a revelation for me. So many of its sections, even single sentences, contain so much substance and truth that it's almost overwhelming. Lobaczewski describes social cycles, psychopathic types, dangerous cognitive errors, pathological systems of government, religion and science, and introduces new terms for concepts that may have been previously described, but only in vague terms, like 'pathocracy', 'ponerization', 'ponerology', 'ponerogenic unions' and others. The book is dense, but the subject matter is dense. It requires close reading, and every page contains insight and clarity. It delves into the darkest of subject matter - murder, oppression, genocide, torture, black propaganda, total inhumanity - with precision and conscience.
Ponerology literally means the study of evil. Political Ponerology (*****) expands the study to the realm of politics, where psychopaths can affect billions. I'd say it's one of the top five most important books ever written. It'll never leave my bookshelf, and even though I've read it a handful of times, I expect I'll read it many more times in the future.
June 18, 2018
Terrific and terrifying.
February 5, 2013
This book is probably the most important book out there about what is wrong with the world and with the knowledge contained in this book we will have the chance to turn things around before its too late. Most people are completely stumped when thinking about why there is so much evil in the world and why we are completely helpless to ever change. Why do things always seem to get worse and degenerate into madness and genocide? This book really spells it out why and how these processes work. The blind spot in most people's mind is about psychopathy and by filling this gap of knowledge with this information we will be able to stop the cycle of evil which seems to repeat endlessly on this planet. This book is only the first stages of the study of Ponerology and needs much more study but is a great starting point in this critical time in our history. This book is a MUST READ! Pick it up today.
January 5, 2012
Ponerology, as it said is a study. This book gives a motivation to study psychopathology in power structures. Just like you study schizophrenics one can study psychopaths (in power) The conclusion of this book: one should not put psychopaths in power.
As soon as scientifically is diagnosed a psychopath everything has to be done to remove such a person out of power.
It is a new study, viewpoint and science, so it takes several years before it is implicated and can be used to remove psychopaths from responsible positions.
In most ( if not all) psychiatry books the psychopath is only mentioned briefly, maybe to hide the psychopath in power from the public. Especially DSM IV is remarkable for its very incomplete description of the psychopath. Only those who meet the judiciary system are in the book, not the psychopaths who run the world.
As soon as scientifically is diagnosed a psychopath everything has to be done to remove such a person out of power.
It is a new study, viewpoint and science, so it takes several years before it is implicated and can be used to remove psychopaths from responsible positions.
In most ( if not all) psychiatry books the psychopath is only mentioned briefly, maybe to hide the psychopath in power from the public. Especially DSM IV is remarkable for its very incomplete description of the psychopath. Only those who meet the judiciary system are in the book, not the psychopaths who run the world.
January 26, 2013
A MUST read for anyone serious about understanding why everything is going wrong in our world today. The writer, a psychologist discusses the process by which psychopaths work their way into power and pull the strings.
Read
June 1, 2012Exceptional book. Social psychopathy on a huge scale. Society follows those who seem to know where they are going - and sometimes, evil lurks there. The lack of empathy and compassion...but more than this, the lack of comprehending the other fellow's pain and condition seems to be spreading. In the past, the horrific narcissists who ruled entire nations bulldozed the rights of others.
Wonderful reminder AND wake up call for today...
Wonderful reminder AND wake up call for today...
June 6, 2016
Granted it is difficult to read but it will be one of the most important books you will read. What it reveals about the insidious hidden behind the mundane will shatter the world views of most. Psychopaths are not just serial killers and rapists, the successful ones are probably the most powerful people on earth. Now that's a scary thought, but in it lies an understanding of the collective rut humanity is in.
September 14, 2007
If you want to understand why people like Bush, Cheney, Blair, and Rice do the things they do, this is the best book to help one understand the nature of evil adjusted for political purposes.
June 3, 2018
I did not like this book. The author may actually be right about something in his general theory - it does seem to "fit" what is going on around us in the world and especially in the US currently; but there's a lot of outright crap mixed in (like the idea that the anti-smoking movement or the push to decrease carbon monoxide emissions is due to carbon monoxide and/or something in second-hand smoke being able to protect our minds from psychopaths' influence...). Parts of the book also struck me as racist, particularly antisemitic. Also, for a "scientific" report, there was very little science, and the author makes conclusions and assumptions that don't necessarily follow from the data - he doesn't just take liberties, he squeezes them for all they're worth and maybe spare change, as well. At the end, his "Logocracy" looks suspiciously like Plato's Republic - except with psychologists in charge, rather than philosophers. Personally, I'd prefer the philosophers, thank you. Probably most damning of all, for me, is that the writing was overwrought and boring as hell. I don't recommend the book to anyone, actually; there is bound to be better works on the subject.
April 20, 2015
important subject, but the vague and abstract treatment makes it nearly unreadable and less than elucidating.
January 14, 2023
book #2 of 2023: Political Ponerology: The Science of Evil, Psychopathy, and the Origins of Totalitarianism (2022) by Polish psychiatrist Andrew Lobaczewski and edited by American author and professor Michael Rectenwald. so…this massively dense slog of a book falls heavily into the i read it so you don’t have to category: the writing is fine, digestible: it was just super dense, frequently very generalized, and sometimes redundant. recommended by a friend, this book seemed interesting bcs I want to understand the aholes who are very actively running our planet to ruin: “ponerology” is a term that was coined to describe the study of evil. I read it alongside another friend who is similarly motivated, but who wisely called it quits ~halfway through bcs this is kind of not that book: I mean, we all know they’re psychopaths, right? luckily for her (bcs I took notes), I live to write the b*tchy review (bcs autism), so, without further ado…. first of all, there is a lot of front matter: forewords, introductions…it takes a while to get to chapter 1 and, when you do, it’s largely psychological m*st*rb*tion - well really that’s all of chapters 1-4 - from someone who clearly just wants to stand in front of a lecture hall, like 24/7. my ms (learning theory) happens to include quite a bit of psych, so I’m not gonna lie and say I wasn’t here for it, but chapter 4, where the author discusses every every kind of pathocrat, is over a hundred pages - and it’s a large book! normally I don’t complain about such things. I read textbooks and ancient history, literature, and mythology regularly, but I could not get through more than 30 pages in this thing in a day no matter what! unheard of. it’s meaty as all get out (except for the last two chapters on his idealized future, which were mercifully short): packed with examples of totalitarianism from history, introductions to an astonishingly endless cast of psychologists and their works, and countless descriptions of pathocrats in action and their impacts, among many other details. and! there was a second author, an editor who contributed so much in the footnotes, since the author died before this third edition could be published, that he definitely feels like a greater contributor than an editor. but…it was very lame to constantly have to interrupt your reading to read a super long footnote, then backtrack in the text to regain context. much of the most interesting and relevant content in the book was in those footnotes, though. I don’t think I’m exaggerating to say the book was at least 1/5 footnotes, overall: a lot of small print. 🤓 to summarize briefly his, rather overstated, more personal than universal execution of his promise to deliver the root of evil: ~.06% of society are essential psychopaths who want to take over everything and instantiate totalitarian rule (a higher percentage have brain tissue damage, with somewhere between 4 to 9% of the total population having some type or some combination of psychopathy) and about 12% of the population will support them in taking over the world…and woe be to you if you don’t prevent it. there are genetic markers for these people, who are surprise! far more frequently male (reminder: biology is to blame for this: women have two Xs, so flaws on their X chromosomes (where almost all the flaws are) are usually masked by the genes that are in better shape, men…not so much (they’re XY, so their X better be great bcs they only get one shot)). before reading this book, I’d already accepted that narcissists must be on the autism spectrum bcs like half the people in the fb autism groups I’m in say they have at least one narcissist parent…and we know autism is genetic, so…. but after reading the author’s description of psychopaths: emotionless, don’t give a damn about others, feel zero guilt, know they’re different and wear a mask to hide it, aren’t very bright but are nonetheless geniuses at gaming the system, commit calculated acts of cruelty if they think it might help them, never admit they’re wrong, etc…I definitely recognized a couple of spectrum traits (not the cruelty for sure, but while I care, often very deeply, about others, so help me, if you start talking about your emotions, things are gonna go to crap fast: for the record, I also absolutely don’t care about my own emotions either bcs, like cats, what’re they good for? if you say cats are good for emo support, I’ll say exactly: useless. all I can say is every autist I know is boringly good and probably more likely to be fooled by a psychopath than a neurotypical person because evil makes even less sense to us, but still, it looks to me like they’re just farther on the spectrum than narcissists are - I guess I’m lucky I didn’t have one of them as a parent.) one thing my friend noted was that while the author complained a lot about communism and Marxism, he’d clearly adopted a good share of the ideologies.
February 22, 2015
Este não é um livro bem escrito. Talvez por ser o autor polonês, o texto, mesmo no original em inglês, é meio estranho e, por vezes, ambíguo ou confuso. No entanto, ler esta obra é OBRIGAÇÃO MORAL de toda pessoa que pretenda entender a humanidade e trabalhar seriamente por melhorá-la, sobretudo no que se refere à violência, à opressão e à guerra.
O mais interessante e importante do livro é mesmo a proposta: estudar o mal como um fenômeno não apenas moral, mas também psicopatológico. Como se trata de uma ciência inexistente (o autor propõe a sua criação), o texto é repetitivo; o livro poderia ser bem menor e torna-se cansativo às vezes.
Em compensação, o posfácio é muito bom e apresenta um belo resumo da obra. E na edição americana, há um capítulo importante, intitulado "A word of caution from the publisher". Ali, o editor tenta responder sobretudo ao argumento de que não se deve estudar nada disso, pois é muito grande o perigo de que esses conhecimentos sejam usados para o mal, como para ações de eugenia à la nazismo.
O mais interessante e importante do livro é mesmo a proposta: estudar o mal como um fenômeno não apenas moral, mas também psicopatológico. Como se trata de uma ciência inexistente (o autor propõe a sua criação), o texto é repetitivo; o livro poderia ser bem menor e torna-se cansativo às vezes.
Em compensação, o posfácio é muito bom e apresenta um belo resumo da obra. E na edição americana, há um capítulo importante, intitulado "A word of caution from the publisher". Ali, o editor tenta responder sobretudo ao argumento de que não se deve estudar nada disso, pois é muito grande o perigo de que esses conhecimentos sejam usados para o mal, como para ações de eugenia à la nazismo.
October 22, 2013
Honestly, I couldn't make it through this book, quit about with three of four chapters left. The language was simply impenetrable, it was boring and quite frankly, induced immediate sleep. This felt like reading something out of an esoteric academic journal, dang, I felt like I was back in grad school being forced to wade through academic drivel again. This is written only for academics in an esoteric fashion and is mind numbing. It's a shame too, because they subject matter is intensely fascinating and this is one of the few books that even mentions a clinical/scientific study of evil. I'm always interested in books that address the question of why this world is so messed up, but sorry, the academic language and style of writing defeated me, couldn't take it anymore. If you're looking for a much more readable book along similar lines, try Eric Fromm's "Anatomy of Human Destructiveness" which is deep and serious, but also readable.
February 15, 2013
The book is definitely not a light reading and that is not only for its content but also form. The writing is jargonic, dry, incomplete, generalized, and leaving readers starving for further elaboration and detail. Nevertheless this is a unique and valuable work containing enough material to be included in a further research of the fascinating and mysterious field of ponerology (the study of the causal components of the origin of evil).
December 31, 2013
If you are confused about all the political nonsense going on today - whether it's global or local, this book is a must read to help you understand the evil/corruption of everything that you probably never wished to know. But knowledge protects, right! Read this book and then read it again.
August 28, 2018
Probably the most important book You've never heard of.
August 11, 2022
The forward by Rectenwald and the introduction by the editor are awesome! Almost wondering if I need to read the whole book. We'll see!
November 21, 2019
A thought-provoking yet ultimately frustrating read
I sought out this book after seeing a mention in an article in Psychology Today. The author, a therapist who lived through the Nazi and Soviet occupations of Poland, argues that large-scale political evil is best understood as the result of pathological persons dominating the society of normal people. It’s an intriguing notion, but proof is lacking as is any real way of getting rid of these movements and regimes when they arise.
On top of that, this ebook edition was republished by a paranoid leftist who believes the September 2001 terrorist attacks in America were staged by the U.S. government. It is ironic to say the least that such a person would republish what is largely an analysis of Soviet-style Communism as a pathological system, and moreover the author himself explicitly discusses political paranoia as one of his pathological types! It also must be said that he expresses antisemitic views in three instances that I counted, which is hardly surprising in a Pole of his generation but is deeply disappointing and damaging in what is meant to be an analysis and “treatment plan” for political evil. result of pathological persons dominating the society of normal people. It’s an intriguing notion, but proof is lacking as is any real way of getting rid of these movements and regimes when they arise.
On top of that, this ebook edition was republished by a paranoid leftist who believes the September 2001 terrorist attacks in America were staged by the U.S. government. It is ironic to say the least that such a person would republish what is largely an analysis of Soviet-style Communism as a pathological system, and moreover the author himself explicitly discusses political paranoia as one of his pathological types! It also must be said that he expresses antisemitic views in three instances that I counted, which is hardly surprising in a Pole of his generation but is deeply disappointing and damaging in what is meant to be an analysis and “treatment plan” for political evil.
I sought out this book after seeing a mention in an article in Psychology Today. The author, a therapist who lived through the Nazi and Soviet occupations of Poland, argues that large-scale political evil is best understood as the result of pathological persons dominating the society of normal people. It’s an intriguing notion, but proof is lacking as is any real way of getting rid of these movements and regimes when they arise.
On top of that, this ebook edition was republished by a paranoid leftist who believes the September 2001 terrorist attacks in America were staged by the U.S. government. It is ironic to say the least that such a person would republish what is largely an analysis of Soviet-style Communism as a pathological system, and moreover the author himself explicitly discusses political paranoia as one of his pathological types! It also must be said that he expresses antisemitic views in three instances that I counted, which is hardly surprising in a Pole of his generation but is deeply disappointing and damaging in what is meant to be an analysis and “treatment plan” for political evil. result of pathological persons dominating the society of normal people. It’s an intriguing notion, but proof is lacking as is any real way of getting rid of these movements and regimes when they arise.
On top of that, this ebook edition was republished by a paranoid leftist who believes the September 2001 terrorist attacks in America were staged by the U.S. government. It is ironic to say the least that such a person would republish what is largely an analysis of Soviet-style Communism as a pathological system, and moreover the author himself explicitly discusses political paranoia as one of his pathological types! It also must be said that he expresses antisemitic views in three instances that I counted, which is hardly surprising in a Pole of his generation but is deeply disappointing and damaging in what is meant to be an analysis and “treatment plan” for political evil.
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April 17, 2021Definitely worth reading, but ultimately unrateable.
I feel like giving it 5 stars, except for his endorsement of christianity. And communism. And his logocracy, as he calls his alternative to democracy. And the fact that the publisher looks like she's batshit crazy. And the impossibility of verifying the existence of the author. And the fact that I feel that the book is missing some important stuff, presumably due to his christianity, like the negative importance of various societal factors that exist in America today, but weren't present in early 20th century Germany and Russia, and could lead to something far worse than their scenarios. And anything more? But, yeah, I still kinda feel like giving it 5 stars.
I feel that I react to christianity the way he saw others reacting to Soviet communism, so that alone was valuable to me personally. That he endorses christianity tells me that he didn't understand christianity nearly as well as he thought he did. I will now have to read Cynical Theories, whose author cautiously recommended this book.
I feel like giving it 5 stars, except for his endorsement of christianity. And communism. And his logocracy, as he calls his alternative to democracy. And the fact that the publisher looks like she's batshit crazy. And the impossibility of verifying the existence of the author. And the fact that I feel that the book is missing some important stuff, presumably due to his christianity, like the negative importance of various societal factors that exist in America today, but weren't present in early 20th century Germany and Russia, and could lead to something far worse than their scenarios. And anything more? But, yeah, I still kinda feel like giving it 5 stars.
I feel that I react to christianity the way he saw others reacting to Soviet communism, so that alone was valuable to me personally. That he endorses christianity tells me that he didn't understand christianity nearly as well as he thought he did. I will now have to read Cynical Theories, whose author cautiously recommended this book.
March 25, 2009
This book was a pain in the ass to read. I actually forced my way through most of the book. Political Ponerology is definitely not going to be for everybody. If it weren't for my life long commitment to understanding evil, I wouldn't have even picked it up. It's a really dry, technical approach by the author.
The good news is that this book is probably the most thorough piece of work I've come across dealing with the scientific approach to evil. It was originally written around world war 2 by a Polish scientist. Still highly relevant and worthy of reading by researchers out there.
The good news is that this book is probably the most thorough piece of work I've come across dealing with the scientific approach to evil. It was originally written around world war 2 by a Polish scientist. Still highly relevant and worthy of reading by researchers out there.
August 20, 2022
This book is not biased on political beliefs. It seeks to provide a scientific exploration of its subject and presents it in a clear way.
If you seek to better understand the landscape of human nature and how social interactions organize and influence human group behavior with resulting adaptive or maladaptive effects on civilization as a whole, then this book is a MUST READ!
If you seek to better understand the landscape of human nature and how social interactions organize and influence human group behavior with resulting adaptive or maladaptive effects on civilization as a whole, then this book is a MUST READ!
October 4, 2009
The Science on the Nature of Evil says it all.
September 22, 2015
A good book on psychopathology and how the world is pretty much run by them :)
September 14, 2022
Delivers on what it promises: a healing therapy for psychopathy.
Want to read
May 26, 2025Pending...
April 20, 2025
Finished POLITICAL PONEROLOGY: THE SCIENCE OF EVIL, PSYCHOPATHY, AND THE ORIGINS OF TOTALITARIANISM (written 1984, rev. ed. 2022) by Polish psychiatrist Andrew M. Lobaczewski (1921-2007), a ground-breaking work based on the author’s studies of “ponerology”—the study of evil—and the leaders, supporters, victims, and survivors of the Communist regime in Poland. Lobaczewski emigrated to the United States in 1977, the lone survivor of a team of psychologists, where he completed their studies, though still harassed by Communist operatives.
Lobaczewski was a Christian who valued religious moral teachings. However, he argued that the only way to truly overcome large-scale societal evil was to understand it from a psychological perspective, as opposed to a strictly moral or sociological point of view. For example, dictators (such as Stalin) often exhibit psychopathic tendencies. The book addresses questions such as how such psychologically impaired individuals attain political power, how they attract followers, and how they affect normal citizens. Lobaczewski used the example of someone with Daltonism (red-green colorblindness), a condition biologically inherited, attaining political power and demanding that his vision impairment become the norm and that anyone insisting red and green exists was an enemy of the state. This person would attract the loyalty of a similarly affected minority and of normal-sighted individuals willing to lie to obtain power. Through propaganda and intimidation, they would psychologically manipulate the majority of normal-sighted people trying to survive under such a regime. There would be wide-spread neurosis, the “human response if a normal person is subordinated to the domination of psychologically abnormal people” (p. 265). The author’s task as a psychiatrist in Poland was to help his patients define and understand the nature of those oppressing them and develop coping survival skills (often through humor and renewed religious commitment). He then recommended that normal nations develop and implement such psychological training at-large to protect its citizens from political psychopaths.
Lobaczewski concluded his study with an idealistic vision of the future whereby countries would make legal decisions based on psychological and scientific knowledge, only literate, educated citizens would be allowed to vote, and potential political leaders would be vetted by a “Council of Wise Men” (something like Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek” universe). I do not think such a world is possible, for “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). That said, POLITICAL PONEROLOGY provides a wealth of insights into the “hearts” of dysfunctional political systems and of those who exist within them. The book is dense, requiring some expertise in psychology to fully comprehend and appreciate it. I recommend it for psychology professionals and those invested in politics. For a more easily accessible book on the psychology of evil, I recommend Scott Peck’s PEOPLE OF THE LIE.
Lobaczewski was a Christian who valued religious moral teachings. However, he argued that the only way to truly overcome large-scale societal evil was to understand it from a psychological perspective, as opposed to a strictly moral or sociological point of view. For example, dictators (such as Stalin) often exhibit psychopathic tendencies. The book addresses questions such as how such psychologically impaired individuals attain political power, how they attract followers, and how they affect normal citizens. Lobaczewski used the example of someone with Daltonism (red-green colorblindness), a condition biologically inherited, attaining political power and demanding that his vision impairment become the norm and that anyone insisting red and green exists was an enemy of the state. This person would attract the loyalty of a similarly affected minority and of normal-sighted individuals willing to lie to obtain power. Through propaganda and intimidation, they would psychologically manipulate the majority of normal-sighted people trying to survive under such a regime. There would be wide-spread neurosis, the “human response if a normal person is subordinated to the domination of psychologically abnormal people” (p. 265). The author’s task as a psychiatrist in Poland was to help his patients define and understand the nature of those oppressing them and develop coping survival skills (often through humor and renewed religious commitment). He then recommended that normal nations develop and implement such psychological training at-large to protect its citizens from political psychopaths.
Lobaczewski concluded his study with an idealistic vision of the future whereby countries would make legal decisions based on psychological and scientific knowledge, only literate, educated citizens would be allowed to vote, and potential political leaders would be vetted by a “Council of Wise Men” (something like Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek” universe). I do not think such a world is possible, for “the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). That said, POLITICAL PONEROLOGY provides a wealth of insights into the “hearts” of dysfunctional political systems and of those who exist within them. The book is dense, requiring some expertise in psychology to fully comprehend and appreciate it. I recommend it for psychology professionals and those invested in politics. For a more easily accessible book on the psychology of evil, I recommend Scott Peck’s PEOPLE OF THE LIE.
September 12, 2025
Lobaczewski’s book is a provocative and increasingly influential work examining how evil—rooted in psychological pathologies like psychopathy—can come to dominate whole societies via oppressive political systems called pathocracies. Lobaczewski, a Polish psychologist who survived both Nazi and Communist rule, argues that totalitarianism is not merely the result of flawed ideologies or economics, but rather the spread of pathological individuals into positions of power, corrupting institutions and normalizing inhumanity.
Lobaczewski’s concepts of pathocracy—rule by psychopaths and their sycophants—and ponerology—the science of evil—offer a way to understand the alarming rise of authoritarian and manipulative politics in contemporary society, whether on the left or right. His framework explains phenomena like gaslighting, doublespeak, and mass deception, highlighting how ordinary citizens and intellectuals can be co-opted into supporting “secondary meanings” of political language deployed by party insiders, who knowingly invert truth for personal gain.
In the present context in the U.S., where polarization, propaganda, and intolerant ideologies often seem to erode the capacity for critical thinking and civil discourse, Lobaczewski’s insights are vital. He identifies cycles of social “hysteria” and offers practical recommendations for recognizing and countering pathological influence, urging readers to cultivate discernment and defend the normal psychological health of communities before the spread of pathocracy becomes entrenched. The book provides not just academic analysis but also tools for psychological resilience and recovery of sanity amid growing social dysfunction—a concern felt keenly in modern politics.
While some critics argue that Lobaczewski's synthesis blends personal experience with psychological theory in a way that is more accessible than academically rigorous, many reviewers emphasize its urgent relevance for anyone concerned about the roots and recurrence of mass political evil in contemporary times. It is seen as essential reading for understanding and resisting the manipulative dynamics that threaten democratic societies today.
Lobaczewski’s concepts of pathocracy—rule by psychopaths and their sycophants—and ponerology—the science of evil—offer a way to understand the alarming rise of authoritarian and manipulative politics in contemporary society, whether on the left or right. His framework explains phenomena like gaslighting, doublespeak, and mass deception, highlighting how ordinary citizens and intellectuals can be co-opted into supporting “secondary meanings” of political language deployed by party insiders, who knowingly invert truth for personal gain.
In the present context in the U.S., where polarization, propaganda, and intolerant ideologies often seem to erode the capacity for critical thinking and civil discourse, Lobaczewski’s insights are vital. He identifies cycles of social “hysteria” and offers practical recommendations for recognizing and countering pathological influence, urging readers to cultivate discernment and defend the normal psychological health of communities before the spread of pathocracy becomes entrenched. The book provides not just academic analysis but also tools for psychological resilience and recovery of sanity amid growing social dysfunction—a concern felt keenly in modern politics.
While some critics argue that Lobaczewski's synthesis blends personal experience with psychological theory in a way that is more accessible than academically rigorous, many reviewers emphasize its urgent relevance for anyone concerned about the roots and recurrence of mass political evil in contemporary times. It is seen as essential reading for understanding and resisting the manipulative dynamics that threaten democratic societies today.
October 2, 2024
Everyone should read this book even though the reading is difficult. It is not only a psychology book but more than anything I believe it totally changes our philosophy on good and evil. If correct, and it at least partially is if not completely, then this books makes the case that evil, or at least the large macrosocial cases of evil are a product of psychopathy among individuals that then rise to positions of power which they would inherently try to do. This book puts forth that radical change in thinking that is required if we are to ever prevent these large scale instances of evil we've seen throughout history (and just recently saw with the Covid insanity).
We can say there are problems yet to be solved to put this change in thinking into effect. We still can't accurately identify and know who is a psychopath. The idea is we need to keep these people out of position of power or control over others. We can get a good idea based on the behaviors of people but we still need scientific ways to identify "essential psychopaths". This is what research has to accomplish in the years to come. For now our thinking has to change to stop strictly blaming moral issues or "the devil" in some abstract form. The devil may be brain damage or genes and environmental factors that lead to psychopathy. If that is the case, then we can literally fight the devil himself. But for now all I can do is say I'm pretty sure Hillary Clinton and Anthony Fauci are psychopaths. Until we can prove that before they are put into positions of power, we'll still see the carnage people of this nature cause to us all.
We can say there are problems yet to be solved to put this change in thinking into effect. We still can't accurately identify and know who is a psychopath. The idea is we need to keep these people out of position of power or control over others. We can get a good idea based on the behaviors of people but we still need scientific ways to identify "essential psychopaths". This is what research has to accomplish in the years to come. For now our thinking has to change to stop strictly blaming moral issues or "the devil" in some abstract form. The devil may be brain damage or genes and environmental factors that lead to psychopathy. If that is the case, then we can literally fight the devil himself. But for now all I can do is say I'm pretty sure Hillary Clinton and Anthony Fauci are psychopaths. Until we can prove that before they are put into positions of power, we'll still see the carnage people of this nature cause to us all.
January 7, 2020
I just found this book after browsing for a couple of hours through the internet while laying ill in bed. It looks really interesting. I have already ordered it at an online bookstore. I can't wait to get my hands on it. It might be difficult to read, but I'm sure it will be worth it!
This book attracted my attention due to the fact that I'm interested in exploring modern European history, especially the history of totalitarian regimes in the 20th century Europe. It looks like this book is a must read for anyone interested in study of the 20th century history.
This books is a theoretical study of evil and politics. For more details I recommend the following interview with the editor of the English version of the book that can be found on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWbrow...
More on the topic on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponerology
This book attracted my attention due to the fact that I'm interested in exploring modern European history, especially the history of totalitarian regimes in the 20th century Europe. It looks like this book is a must read for anyone interested in study of the 20th century history.
This books is a theoretical study of evil and politics. For more details I recommend the following interview with the editor of the English version of the book that can be found on youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWbrow...
More on the topic on wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ponerology
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