4 ms·
Western society is way too tolerant of certain kinds of mental illness, such as sociopathy/psychopathy, and intolerant of others (e.g. anxiety/depression).
by xqcgrek2 5y ago
Western society is way too tolerant of certain kinds of mental illness, such as sociopathy/psychopathy, and intolerant of others (e.g. anxiety/depression).
- toss1 5y agoVery succinct statement of the issue. Not only is Western society too tolerant of sociopathy, corporate structures tend to actively filter to top ranks those with such behaviors (just spend 5min reading Glassdoor or any employment-related NH topic...).
- short_sells_poo 5y agoI have a pet theory on this that is entirely based on my own biased views: societies which are communal, whether around a family, village, tribe, etc..., tend to keep sociopathic tendencies in check. Either the sociopathic individual is exiled from the group, or at least identified and prevented from harming the collective. If the larger structure is still made up of smaller (at most 100s of individuals) communities, exiles risk becoming pariahs and without any societal support, it becomes next to impossible to strive (or even survive). In highly individualistic societies, a lot of the most personal checks and balances are removed. You no longer have a tight-knit family that imposes some moral framework and behavior on it's members (good or bad). Having said that, I'm not sure whether there are any truly communal societies left in the modern world. I suppose some isolated, rural communities could qualify, but pretty much all modern countries are now individualistic. Family values are slightly more pronounced in the East/far-East, but not to a degree that matters. Being successful still often trumps being a decent human being.
- toss1 5y agoIndeed! The ability to make a mess then move on to a new crowd to abuse/scam/etc. without your reputation fully following you, is hugely enabling for sociopaths.