Toward a Utopian Society: From Disconnection and Disorder to Empathy and Harmony

Abstract

The essence of any psychologically healthy society—and the basis of the utopian or eupsychian society envisaged by Abraham Maslow—is an individual state of empathic connection that gives rise to qualities such as compassion, responsibility, justice, fairness, and equality. Opposed to this, is a psychological state of hyperindividuation and psychological disconnection, that generates traits of selfishness and a lack of empathy, compassion, and conscience. In turn, such traits give rise to social injustice, inequality, brutality, and oppression. In its most extreme form, hyperindividuation is associated with “disorders of disconnection” such as psychopathy and narcissistic personality disorder. I discuss the concept of “pathocracy,” which explains why individuals with personality disorders are likely to rise into positions of power, both in politics and in business. Any attempt to develop a eupsychian society has to deal with the issue of pathocracy, including possible measures to prevent individuals with personality disorders from attaining power, and other measures to encourage empathic and conscientious individuals to take up leadership roles. This would help realize Maslow’s concept of enlightened management. At the same time, as Maslow emphasized, we need to take account of the social and institutional structures and circumstances that encourage authoritarianism and pathocracy.