The Poor Nation's Defense Mechanisms
- Date: 2007-07-13 - Word Count: 567
Share This!
All the countries in the mutilated post-Communist parts of Europe inevitably ended up poor. Yet, as opposed to their neighbors, some polities failed to alleviate their misery or ameliorate their dire predicament. The denizens of these states are not only impoverished - they also feel like losers and failures.
To avoid confronting such unpalatable truths and to fend off a tormenting self-image, the citizenry of these places developed a host of psychological defense mechanisms.
1. Magical Thinking
The belief in a fantastic world in which miracles occur, saviors materialize, one is immune to the consequences of one's inaction, and all ends well, regardless of current realities.
The leaders of such countries provide their voters with fairy tales and grandiose fantasies about multi-billion dollar investments, which typically never materialize. Worse still, this obsessive preoccupation with deus-ex-machina salvation-by-outsiders detracts from and distracts the scarce human resources at the disposal of the government.
As a result, the authorities neglect to tackle the most pressing problems facing their nation: unemployment, dysfunctional institutions, and venality. In the meantime, asset bubbles - both in real estate and in the bloated and much-manipulated stock exchange - imperil the country's financial system.
2. Messianic-Religious Leadership
From the Caucasus to the republics of former Yugoslavia, leaders of economically decrepit countries in the region present themselves as either Messiah-like saviors or martyrs to the cause, hounded by a "hate-filled and jealous" opposition, or victimized by outside forces. Such leaders ostentatiously "dedicate themselves" to the nation, forsaking a private life or worldly pleasures.
Their subjects crave for honest and hard-working leadership and so hungrily succumb to the allure of ceaseless media campaigns, which border on a personality cult. They suspend their disbelief and dispense with rationality. The Dear Leader becomes the focal point of their hopes and dreams while other institutions - parliament, the judiciary, and the media - shrink and wither.
Often, this populist worship results in an authoritarian regime that gradually, almost imperceptibly replaces consensus politics. The Beloved Leader keeps paying lip service to democracy and functioning institutions, but effectively, he contemptuously ignores them. He purges the civil service, staffing it with cronies and relatives, and he treats the opposition as traitors and enemies of the state.
3. Denial of Reality
From the Caucasus, through Central Asia, to the Balkans and Africa, unable to face the dismal condition of their countries, people choose to simply deny it. Hype and spin and public relations replace real action and substantive reforms. The language itself is subverted: corruption is redefined by the powers that be to exclude blatant nepotism; a mere change of ownership hailed as a revolutionizing foreign investment; promises and plans presented as facts (faits accompli); statistical methodology altered to produce favorable results. Thus, reality is done away with and replaced with fantasy.
4. Aggressive Assertiveness
Rather than accept the fact that the nation's low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence are outcomes of its failures, the leadership reverses cause and effects: the country's repeated failures are now, officially, a RESULT of people's wavering self-esteem and self-confidence. People who doubt the leadership's claims and doctored data "don't believe in the future of the nation, don't believe that (insert the name of the country) can (succeed)." Dissidents are, therefore, branded as pusillanimous traitors.
Thus, everyone is encouraged to adopt a loathsome variant of newfound assertiveness that borders on narcissism and is unpleasantly aggressive. It does not reflect an inner conviction in the real capabilities and skills of the populace. It is merely demonstrative and hyperbolic.
To avoid confronting such unpalatable truths and to fend off a tormenting self-image, the citizenry of these places developed a host of psychological defense mechanisms.
1. Magical Thinking
The belief in a fantastic world in which miracles occur, saviors materialize, one is immune to the consequences of one's inaction, and all ends well, regardless of current realities.
The leaders of such countries provide their voters with fairy tales and grandiose fantasies about multi-billion dollar investments, which typically never materialize. Worse still, this obsessive preoccupation with deus-ex-machina salvation-by-outsiders detracts from and distracts the scarce human resources at the disposal of the government.
As a result, the authorities neglect to tackle the most pressing problems facing their nation: unemployment, dysfunctional institutions, and venality. In the meantime, asset bubbles - both in real estate and in the bloated and much-manipulated stock exchange - imperil the country's financial system.
2. Messianic-Religious Leadership
From the Caucasus to the republics of former Yugoslavia, leaders of economically decrepit countries in the region present themselves as either Messiah-like saviors or martyrs to the cause, hounded by a "hate-filled and jealous" opposition, or victimized by outside forces. Such leaders ostentatiously "dedicate themselves" to the nation, forsaking a private life or worldly pleasures.
Their subjects crave for honest and hard-working leadership and so hungrily succumb to the allure of ceaseless media campaigns, which border on a personality cult. They suspend their disbelief and dispense with rationality. The Dear Leader becomes the focal point of their hopes and dreams while other institutions - parliament, the judiciary, and the media - shrink and wither.
Often, this populist worship results in an authoritarian regime that gradually, almost imperceptibly replaces consensus politics. The Beloved Leader keeps paying lip service to democracy and functioning institutions, but effectively, he contemptuously ignores them. He purges the civil service, staffing it with cronies and relatives, and he treats the opposition as traitors and enemies of the state.
3. Denial of Reality
From the Caucasus, through Central Asia, to the Balkans and Africa, unable to face the dismal condition of their countries, people choose to simply deny it. Hype and spin and public relations replace real action and substantive reforms. The language itself is subverted: corruption is redefined by the powers that be to exclude blatant nepotism; a mere change of ownership hailed as a revolutionizing foreign investment; promises and plans presented as facts (faits accompli); statistical methodology altered to produce favorable results. Thus, reality is done away with and replaced with fantasy.
4. Aggressive Assertiveness
Rather than accept the fact that the nation's low self-esteem and lack of self-confidence are outcomes of its failures, the leadership reverses cause and effects: the country's repeated failures are now, officially, a RESULT of people's wavering self-esteem and self-confidence. People who doubt the leadership's claims and doctored data "don't believe in the future of the nation, don't believe that (insert the name of the country) can (succeed)." Dissidents are, therefore, branded as pusillanimous traitors.
Thus, everyone is encouraged to adopt a loathsome variant of newfound assertiveness that borders on narcissism and is unpleasantly aggressive. It does not reflect an inner conviction in the real capabilities and skills of the populace. It is merely demonstrative and hyperbolic.
Related Tags: money, finance, shares, credit, business, banks, currency, savings, government, stock exchange, bonds, capital, markets, transition, imf, privatization, microeconomics, macroeconomics, private sector, public sector, international monetary fund, world bank, ifc, ebrd
Sam Vaknin ( samvak.tripod.com ) is the author of Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited and After the Rain - How the West Lost the East.He served as a columnist for Central Europe Review, Global Politician, PopMatters, eBookWeb , and Bellaonline, and as a United Press International(UPI) Senior Business Correspondent. He was the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory and Suite101.Visit Sam's Web site at samvak.tripod.com Your Article Search Directory : Find in Articles
Recent articles in this category:
- Sarah Palin - Too Good For Us
Sarah Palin has obviously struck a chord with a large swath of the American people, and the obvious - Snoopy, The Peanut Sunday Comics, And Our Skyrocketing $13 Trillion Federal Budget
Recent news stories remind me of an old Sunday Peanuts comic strip. Snoopy is out jogging one day wh - U.s. Manufacturing Jobs Move From Hostile To Friendly Environments
I worked in the electronics industry in various management positions expanding over 35 years. The la - Commitment Vs.involvement: In An Egg And Ham Sandwich, The Chicken Is Involved, The Pig Is Committed
A recent article in the St. Petersburg Times by Robert Trigaux reminded me of this grand old saying: - Get Hot With Athleanx
Remember that song, "Don't you wish your girlfriend was hot like me"? Catchy tune, funny lyrics, sun - "change" To What?
When the boys got together in the 1700's to put America together, they looked back at the littered l - You're Working Too Fast!
"Very often the idler is but a man to whom it is repugnant to make all his life the eighteenth part - Unionize And Strike!
"The worker cannot rise as a worker without joining in unity with other workers and helping all. Thi - Foxophobia, Triskaidekaphobia - Fickle Phantasms From The White House?
President Obama's persistence in singling Fox News out for scoffing and scolding has generated more - What Is Your Relationship With Work?
"If society be held desirable, it surely must be free, equal, and reciprocal society, where benefits
Most viewed articles in this category:
- U.s. Interests Are Imprisoned By Guantanamo
As a Vietnam veteran with 26 years in uniform, I have no sympathy for terrorists. But I am dismayed - The Rule Of Law, Discrimination, And Morality
In an article titled "Places Far Away, Places Very near - Mauthausen, the Camps of the Shoah, and th - The Weeping Of The Earth For Her Children: A Planetary Prayer For Light
"Four years after the US-led invasion, the ICRC says the conflict is inflicting immense suffering, a - I Dislike Bush & Co. More Than Lyndon Johnson Or Richard Nixon
On the evening Lyndon Johnson dropped out of the 1968 Presidential it was a celebration. We could no - Anhydrous Ammonia Spill Day
It looks like someone declared June 8, 2007 to be the day for serious Anhydrous Ammonia spills from - You Can't Eat That - The Great War For Your Body
Surprise, surprise; our government/media complex is at it again. In their constant drive to control - "addiction To Big Government" Is It A Necessary Evil?
I was deeply concerned this morning when I received my regular AFA (American Family Association) ema - Uae's Imbalanced Demography Poses Concerns
Even as Dubai's rising expatriate population is being projected as a measure of its association with - From First Lady To President Of The United States
It absolutely drives me crazy every time I hear people say, "Oh she was such a controversial first l - Exclusionary Ideas Of Progress
Communism, Fascism, Nazism, and Religious Fundamentalism are as utopian as the classical Idea of Pro