BonaLibro

I submitted the following comment to Paul Krugman’s essay, Oligarchy, American Style well within the deadline. It was not accepted. Should I wonder why?

Economics is helpless to understand the 0.1 percent. What’s needed is Psychology, particularly the profiles of high functioning psychopaths. These people have same mentality as serial killers; no empathy, no conscience, but are extremely charming and manipulative. They don’t get off on killing people so much as on “making a killing.”

In certain professions such as law, banking, trading, politics, organized crime, they do very well. Everyone has been associated with such people. They tend to be difficult, if not impossible to work with, and can do great harm to an organization if placed in the wrong position. But they can also be very adept at asset stripping their counter parties on financial trading desks.

The problem lies in studying them because, except by observing them wherever we find them, they would not necessarily know themselves to be abnormal, nor would they be likely, even if they did, to submit to being subjects of such research. There is much written about them online. I would recommend googling “high functioning psychopath” to see if it describes anyone you know.

I spoke too soon. They finally did take it late in the afternoon, several hours after I submitted it around 3:00a.m. E.S.T..