If the Western world feels like it’s gone insane over the last decade, you’re not imagining it.
Polish psychologist Andrew Lobaczewski called this phenomenon Political Ponerology.
The study of how psychologically disordered individuals capture institutions.
Every pathological regime ends up with the same cast of characters.
Here they are.
🧵1. Psychopaths: The Apex Operators
Psychopaths see society as a playground for power.
They lack empathy and feel no moral restraint. Manipulation, intimidation, and cruelty are simply tools.
Their traits aren’t liabilities in a corrupt system — they’re advantages.
When institutions weaken, these are the people who rise to the top.
Historical examples: Joseph Stalin, Lavrentiy Beria, Heinrich Himmler, Ali Khamenei, Saddam Hussein, Pol Pot, Augusto Pinochet.
Pop culture analogues: Emperor Palpatine (Star Wars), Littlefinger (Game of Thrones), Dolores Umbridge (Harry Potter), Ozymandias (Watchmen), Logan Roy (Succession), Agent Smith (The Matrix).
Nov 20, 2025 • 7 tweets • 3 min read
How to maintain Self-Respect in a Corrupt Society
A communist‐era dissident created a guide for staying free in a world built on lies.
🧵 2/ The Concept
Vaclav Havel, the Czech dissident who lived under one of the most suffocating Soviet puppet regimes in Europe, cracked the code:
When you can’t overthrow a corrupt system… you can make it look ridiculous.
