(Molly Bruns, Headline USA) A recent study published in a peer-reviewed journal specializing in psychology revealed that extreme left-wing tendencies are often linked with psychopathy and narcissism.
Current Psychology journal authors Ann Krispenz and Alex Bertrams researched and created a new term to describe the phenomenon: the “dark-ego-vehicle principle,” the New York Post reported.
“According to this principle, individuals with dark personalities—such as high narcissistic and psychopathic traits—are attracted to certain forms of political and social activism which they can use as a vehicle to satisfy their own ego-focused needs instead of actually aiming at social justice and equality,” they said in an interview following the publishing of the study.
The authors explained that particular forms of activism provide an outlet for people with narcissistic or psychopathic tenancies to seek “opportunities for positive self-presentation and displays of moral superiority, to gain social status, to dominate others and to engage in social conflicts and aggression to satisfy their need for thrill seeking.”
This, they said, may explain the demented, reckless riots and the great lengths left-wing activists go to to justify their ultimately self-serving beliefs.
The study also showed that many of the subjects did not personally practice the beliefs they fervently push onto everyone else, falling into left-wing authoritarianism.
“An individual high in LWA might declare anyone to be ‘old fashioned’ who is opposing their own ‘progressive values,’ strive to suppress free speech to regulate the expression of right-wing beliefs in educational institutions, and even endorse the use of violence to reach their own political goals,” the authors said.
Activists from wealthier homes also don the guise of interest in social equality and activism in order to further their own selfish interests and validate their perception of themselves.
“As grandiose narcissists typically desire fame, distinction, elevated social status and high social importance, they can be assumed to strive for influential positions that involve social visibility and outreach as well as access to financial and other resources,” the authors said.
They also made it clear that conservatives sometimes have an authoritarian disposition, but they did not research that because there is “a wide range of literature and research in the field of right-wing authoritarianism.”
“However, research on authoritarianism observed in individuals who are supportive of left-wing political ideologies are still rare,” they concluded.
