I very much appreciate the work of OpenDemocracy. And the Transformation newsletter that’s there.
Transformation: Where love meets social justice. Thank you, Mike Edwards.
So today’s article that I’ve just read…. Demons and angels: strongman leaders and social violence… offers important insights.
Insights from psychologist Steven Pinker talking about “changing circumstances” that produce the violence we have today.
Insights from Polish psychiatrist Andrew Lobaczewski writing about the dramatic shift in human behaviour from peace and tolerance to war and genocide. What Lobaczewski wrote really resonated with me: “each society on earth contains a certain percentage of individuals, a relatively small but active minority, who cannot be considered normal…. individuals that are statistically small in number, but whose quality of difference is such that it can affect hundreds, thousands, even millions of other human beings in negative ways.”
Psychopathy, narcissism, paranoia …
Yes…. Bad news. But the Transformation newsletter also always offers hope and inspiration and more. Maybe you want to subscribe. I already do.