Malignant Narcissist

Psychologically speaking, Mr. George W. Bush is what is called a ‘malignant narcissist.’ A narcissist is someone who has become hypnotized and entranced by their own inflated self-image. They have become so self-absorbed that not only are they not in genuine relation with others, but they relate to others (including the environment) as objects to satisfy their own need for self-aggrandizement. A ‘malignant’ narcissist, however, is a narcissist who reacts sadistically to others who don't support and enable their narcissism. For example, instead of self-reflecting and taking in critical feedback, the Bush administration reacts with ruthless contempt for anyone who disagrees with them. Like a mean and cruel-spirited malignant narcissist, Bush and Co. deny the accusation and try to destroy the messenger. Ultimately, a malignant narcissist wants to annihilate anyone who in any way threatens their illusory self-image and self-serving agenda.Malignant narcissists can be very charismatic, and are very adept at charming and manipulating others. They are clever at camouflaging their malevolent agenda, even to themselves, and can appear to be very normal, regular, and seemingly loving people. To quote the great doctor of the soul, psychiatrist C. G. Jung “only a very small fraction of so-called psychopaths land in the asylum. The overwhelming majority of them constitute that part of the population which is alleged to be “normal.”” And, I might add, that many of these so-called seemingly ‘normal’ psychopaths are drawn to positions of power. Malignant narcissists are very skilled at entrancing others, at putting other’s under their spell. They are master hypnotists. They are like ‘black magicians,’ in that they are very talented at hooking others through their fear by using ‘mind-control’ techniques such as lying and propaganda to control them. The narcissism of a leader such as Bush resonates with the narcissism inherent in his supporters, who identify with Bush’s seeming certainty and lack of doubt (it never occurs to them that, to quote John Kerry “You can be certain and wrong.”). This creates a very dangerous and pathological situation called “group narcissism,” in which a large group of people have dis-connected from their critical faculties and entrusted their power to their narcissistic leader. This is a perversely symbiotic, co-dependent relationship in which all members of the group are colluding with and enabling each other’s narcissism. For example, George Bush, in his utter narcissism thinks that God speaks through him. Instead of being seen as deluded, his supporters reflect back to him that they, too, think that God speaks through him. This, of course, just reinforces Bush’s narcissistic delusion. Seeing Bush as God’s instrument concurrently fulfills in the Bush supporters their adolescent fantasy of having someone who is playing the role of the divine leader to protect them. This mutually interdependent and reciprocally reinforcing delusion is what is called a ‘collective psychosis.’ By playing with people’s fear, Bush is hypnotizing people to give their power away to him. Unfortunately, by doing this he has hypnotized himself as well, which is to say he is deceiving himself in the process of his deceiving of others. Malignant narcissists are pathological liars. They are very adept at both lying and then believing their own lies. The conviction they carry in this act of self-deception can easily ‘entrance’ people. To quote Jung “Nothing has such a convincing effect as a lie one invents and believes oneself, or an evil deed or intention whose righteousness one regards as self-evident.” A malignant narcissist plays with people’s fears so as to gain their trust and control them, which is based on the abuse of power over others that is the signature of a true dictator.