So what you see in the US political landscape is that there are people who, at least by global standards and even by domestic standards, have incredible privile

So what you see in the US political landscape is that there are people who, at least by global standards and even by domestic standards, have incredible privilege who love nothing more than to adopt an oppression aesthetic (eg the Great Replacement [1]). We also have seen the stratospheric rise of narcisism. I've wondered if this is a new phenomenon. If so, why now? If not, why was it seemingly less prevalent historically? Things like "hyper-individualism as a virtue", a core tenet of many modern American cultures, raiise the question: is this because of narcisism or the cause of it? Culturally we seem to celebrate what are (literally) psychopathic behaviors (eg CEOs of large companies). But here's another thought: maybe the attraction of a sense of oppression is closely related to the human need for a sense of purpose, to be part of something. Organized religion in the West is in decline but it usually provided this structure. It's scary for many to think that everything is just random and when you die, that's it. There's a certain comfort and structure in being part of soemthing, even if that something is (or is construed as) oppression. I believe this is a strong motivator for the resilience of conspiracy theories. As for weaponizing victimhood, here's a good rule to live by: from a narcissist, every accusation is a confession. It tends to work in reverse too, meaning if you find someone making really hpocritical and logically inconsistent statements or accusations, which they themselves don't abide by or are guilty of, it tends to be fairly strong evidence of narcissism. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Replacement https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Replacement