Andrew Lobaczewski - Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes
As for the evil they sowed too liberally during their lives, it
would either not have existed at all, or else would have been
reduced to a scope conditioned by more remote pathological
factors.
Comparative considerations also led the author to conclude
that Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, also known as Stalin,
should be included in the list of this particular ponerogenic
characteropathy, which developed against the backdrop of
perinatal damage to his brain’s prefrontal fields. Literature and
news about him abounds in indications: brutal, charismatic,
snake-charming; issuing of irrevocable decisions; inhuman
ruthlessness, pathologic revengefulness directed at anyone who
got in his way; and egotistical belief in his own genius on the
part of a person whose mind was, in fact, only average. This
state explains as well his psychological dependence on a psy-
chopath like Beria39. Some photographs reveal the typical de-
formation of his forehead which appears in people who suf-
fered very early damage to the areas mentioned above. His
typical irrevocable decisions his daughter describes as follows:
~~~
Whenever he threw out of his heart someone whom he
had known for a long time, classifying him among his
39 L.P. Beria (1899–1953), Soviet Communist leader, b. Georgia. He rose to
prominence in the Cheka (secret police) in Georgia and the Transcaucasus,
became party secretary in these areas, and in 1938 became head of the secret
police. As commissar (later minister) of internal affairs, Beria wielded great
power, and he was the first in this post to become (1946) a member of the
politburo. After Stalin’s death (Mar., 1953), Beria was made first deputy
premier under Premier Malenkov, but the alliance was shaky; in the ensuing
struggle for power Beria was arrested (July) on charges of conspiracy. He and
six alleged accomplices were tried secretly and shot in Dec., 1953. [Editor’s
note.]
POLITICAL PONEROLOGY
117
“enemies” in his soul, it was impossible to talk to him about
that person. The reverse process became impossible for
him, namely persuasion that he was not his enemy, and any
attempts in that direction made him fly into a rage. Redens,
Uncle Pavlusha, and A.S. Svanidze were incapable of doing
anything about it; all they accomplished was to have my fa-
ther break off contacts and withdraw his trust. After seeing
any of them for the last time, he said goodbye as if to a po-
tential foe, one of his “enemies”…40
~~~
We know the effect of being “thrown out of his heart”, as it
is documented by the history of those times.
When we contemplate the scope of the evil Stalin helped to
bring about, we should always take this most ponerogenic
characteropathy into account and attribute the proper portion of
the “blame” to it; unfortunately, it has not yet been sufficiently
studied. We have to consider many other pathologic deviations
as they played essential roles in this macrosocial phenomenon.
Disregarding the pathologic aspects of those occurrences and
limiting interpretation thereof by historiographic and moral
considerations opens the door to an activity of further ponero-
genic factors; such reasoning should be thus regarded as not
only scientifically insufficient but immoral as well.
~~~
Drug-induced characteropathies: During the last few dec-
ades, medicine has begun using a series of drugs with serious
side effects: they attack the nervous system, leaving permanent
damage behind. These generally discreet handicaps sometimes
give rise to personality changes which are often very harmful
socially. Streptomycin41 proved a very dangerous drug; as a
result, some countries have limited its use, whereas others have
taken it off the list of drugs whose use is permitted.
40 Svetlana Alliluieva - Twenty Letters to a Friend.
41 Streptomycin acts by inhibiting protein synthesis and damaging cell mem-
branes in susceptible microorganisms. Possible side effects include injury to
the kidneys and nerve damage that can result in dizziness and deafness. [Edi-
tor’s note.]
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PONEROLOGY
The cytostatic drugs42 used in treating neoplastic43 diseases
often attack the phylogenetically oldest brain tissue, the pri-
mary carrier of our instinctive substratum and basic feelings.44
Persons treated with such drugs progressively tend to lose their
emotional color and their ability to intuit a psychological situa-
tion. They retain their intellectual functions but become praise-
craving egocentrics, easily ruled by people who know how to
take advantage of this. They become indifferent to other peo-
ple’s feelings and the harm they are inflicting upon them; any
criticism of their own person or behavior is repaid with a
vengeance. Such a change of character in a person who until
recently enjoyed respect on the part of his environment or
community, which perseveres in human minds, becomes a
pathological phenomenon causing often tragic results.
Could this have been a factor in the case of the Shah of
Iran? Again, diagnosing dead people is problematic, and the
author lacks detailed data. However, this possibility should be
accepted as a probability. The genesis of that county’s present
42 Most drugs that are used to treat cancer kill the cancer cells. The word
cytotoxic means toxic to cells, or cell-killing. Chemotherapy is properly
called “cytotoxic therapy”. There are other treatments that do not kill cancer
cells. They work by stopping the cancer cells from multiplying. These treat-
ments are called “cytostatic”. The hormone therapies used to treat breast
cancer could be called cytostatic therapy. [Editor’s note.]
43 Neoplasia (literally: new growth) is abnormal, disorganized growth in a
tissue or organ, usually forming a distinct mass. Such a growth is called a
neoplasm, also known as a tumor. Neoplasia refers to both benign and malig-
nant growths, while “cancer” refers specifically to malignant neoplasia.
[Editor’s note.]
44 Chemo Head is the name given by cancer patients to one of the side-effects
of chemotherapy. It has been described as an inability to concentrate, reduced
memory, or finding it difficult to think clearly. This could be simply attrib-
uted to general fatigue, however it seems that there are some very specific
triggers and results. Some people get flustered by loud noises and activity
around them. Others find that they cannot find the right words to express
themselves. One patient described the feeling as “everything seems distant ...
it takes me a few seconds longer to think or answer questions. The mental
process slows down tremendously.” The symptoms are similar to those of
Attention Deficit Disorder. New research concludes “chemo head” continued
in up to 50% of survivors as long as 10 years following the end of systemic
chemotherapy treatment. [Editor’s note.]
POLITICAL PONEROLOGY
119
tragedy also doubtless contains pathological factors which play
ponerologically active roles.45
Results similar to the above in the psychological picture
may be caused by endogenous toxins46 or viruses. When, on
occasion, the mumps proceeds with a brain reaction, it leaves
in its wake a discrete pallor or dullness of feelings and a slight
decrease in mental efficiency. Similar phenomena are wit-
nessed after a difficult bout with diphtheria. Finally, polio at-
tacks the brain, more often the higher part of the anterior horns,
which was affected by the process. People with leg paresis
rarely manifest these effects, but those with paresis of the neck
and/or shoulders must count themselves lucky if they do not. In
addition to affective pallor, persons manifesting these effects
usually evidence naiveté and an inability to comprehend the
crux of a matter.
We rather doubt that President F.D. Roosevelt manifested
some of this latter features, since the polio virus which attacked
him when he was forty caused paresis to his legs. After over-
coming this, years of creative activity followed. However, it is
possible that his naive attitude toward Soviet policy during his
last term of office had a pathological component related to his
deteriorating health.
Character anomalies developing as a result of brain-tissue
damage behave like insidious ponerogenic factors. As a result
of the above-described features, especially the above-
mentioned naiveté and an inability to comprehend the crux of a
matter, their influence easily anchors in human minds, trauma-
tizing our psyches, impoverishing and deforming our thoughts
and feelings, and limiting individuals’ and societies’ ability to
45 Editor’s reminder that this book was written in 1985.
46 Current Western medical opinion states: Endogenous toxins include heavy
metals, pesticides, food additives, and industrial and household chemicals.
These can damage the liver and kidneys; they can also cross the blood-brain
barrier and damage brain cells. Workers exposed to high levels of inhaled
manganese showed concentrated levels in the basal ganglia, and exhibited
Parkinson’s-like syndrome. Observational studies have also shown increased
levels of aluminum, mercury, copper, and iron in the cerebral spinal fluid
(CSF) of Parkinson's patients. It is not fully determined whether these miner-
als found in the brain have any clinical significance. (Mitchell J. Ghen, D.O.,
Ph.D., and Maureen Melindrez, N.D.) [Editor’s note.]
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PONEROLOGY
use common sense and to read a psychological or moral situa-
tion accurately. This opens the door to the influence of other
pathological characters who most frequently carry some inher-
ited psychological deviations; they then push the charac-
teropathic individuals into the shadows and proceed with their
ponerogenic work. That is why various types of characteropa-
thy participate during the initial periods of the genesis of evil,
both on the macrosocial scale and on the individual scale of
human families.
An improved social system of the future should thus protect
individuals and societies by preventing persons with the above
deviations, or certain characteristics to be discussed below,
from any societal functions wherein the fate of other people
would depend upon their behavior. This of course applies pri-
marily to top governmental positions. Such questions should be
dealt with by an appropriate institution composed of people
with a reputation for wisdom and with medical and psychologi-
cal training.
The features of brain-tissue lesions and their character dis-
order results are much easier to detect than certain inherited
anomalies. Thus, stifling ponerogenic processes by removing
these factors from the process of the synthesis of evil is effec-
tive during the early phases of such genesis, and much easier in
practice.
Inherited Deviations
Science already protects societies from the results of some
physiological anomalies which are accompanied by certain
psychological weaknesses. The tragic role played by hereditary
hemophilia among European royalty is well known. Responsi-
ble people in countries where the system of monarchy still
survives, are anxious not to allow a carrier of such a gene to
become queen. Any society exercising so much concern over
individuals with blood-coagulation insufficiency or other seri-
ous and life-threatening pathology would protest if a man af-
flicted with such a condition were appointed to a high office
bearing responsibility for many people. This behavior model
should be extended to many pathologies, including inherited
psychological anomalies.
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121
Daltonists, men with an impaired ability to distinguish red
and green colors from grey, are now barred from professions in
which this could cause a catastrophe. We also know that this
anomaly is often accompanied by a decrease in esthetic experi-
ence, emotions, and the feeling of linkage to people who can
see colors normally. Industrial psychologists are thus cautious
whether such a person should be entrusted with work requiring
dependence upon an autonomic sense of responsibility, as
workers safety is contingent upon this sense.
It was discovered long ago that these two above-mentioned
anomalies – hemophilia and color blindness - are inherited by
means of a gene located in the X chromosome, and tracking
their transmission through many generations is not difficult.
Geneticists have similarly studied the inheritance of many
other features of human organisms, but they have paid scant
attention to the anomalies interesting us here. Many features of
human character have a hereditary bases in genes located in the
same X chromosome; although it is not a rule. Something simi-
lar could apply to the majority of the psychological anomalies
to be discussed below.
Significant progress has recently been made in cognition of
a series of chromosomal anomalies resulting from defective
division of the reproductive cells and their phenotypic psycho-
logical symptoms. This state of affairs enables us to initiate
studies on their ponerogenetic role and to introduce conclu-
sions which are theoretically valuable, something which is in
effect already being done. In practice, however, the majority of
