This is a deeply intellectual look at human evil. You'll need a dictionary to understand a some of the wording because the man who wrote it was a genius.

On this day a year ago, I purchased this book, cracked it open, and had my entire worldview changed starting with just the first chapter. I promise each and every chapter will do this for you as much as it did me. I'm a psychology student and still found it more revealing than 99% of these "psychology" books today. Is it a difficult read for psychology and non-psychology students? Sure. But nothing good in life is easy, and this book embodies that.

Have not finished but awesome/terrifying book. Must read for everyone

In my opinion, this book is essential reading. Political Ponerology describes how ideological movements can be co-opted and subverted by those with a pathological will to power, and how pathocracy can result. In short, this book does an excellent job of explaining how the inmates can end up running the asylum.

This is a technical text. It has an interesting history of publication, having been written 3 times, destroyed once, & never submitted for publication a second time by an “alleged trusted associate”. The subject is interesting to those of us who are curious about evil and how it manifests in seemingly “normal” people.

Not easy reading but extremely valuable insights. A great book!

The most neglected yet most need work done in recent years.

This book, though challenging and demanding of deep focus, is absolutely necessary for modern understanding. My gratitude to Dr. Andrew Lobaczewski and the publisher for making this work available. It offers the critical, clinical knowledge needed to diagnose the origins and mechanisms of evil in society, thereby enabling us to develop effective strategies for societal healing and defense.

Thomas Merton is quoted as saying, "If you want to study the social and political history of modern nations, study hell.". You'll want to also study "Political Ponerology' also as this new edition is vastly improved, revised and expanded with the latest supporting research available. I would say it's the missing link to understanding the events and news of the day.

Il fatto che non sia tradotto in italiano è indicativo dell'importanza e dell'impatto che questo libro potrebbe avere per un pubblico più diffuso. La lingua non è facile, i termini a volte un pochino desueti o troppo tecnici non aiutano, tuttavia ol contenuto è davvero importante per la formazione di un membro consapevole di società complesse

“Power tends to corrupt. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.” – Lord Acton.

But how does power corrupt?

Lobaczewski argues that there are two categories of human beings relevant to this question: those with fully functional feeling capacity and empathy, and those without. It is the inability of the former to calmly identify and wisely handle the latter that lies at the root of the problem of how power is abused over time.

The deficient category of human – whom Lobaczewski strives nobly not to dehumanise or demonise – is essentially composed of the various types of psychopath covered in his work. Psychopaths will do whatever they deem necessary, however immoral , devious, or evil, to get and keep power. They see power over others as the only viable protection against their normal human cousins, whom they existentially fear.

Furthermore, in addition to their empathic and emotive deficiencies, psychopaths lack the varied competences needed to lead wisely and compassionately, and can thus only fail to set up and run a sustainable and healthy society, where such failure comes at a horrific cost in human life and suffering.

As stated, Lobaczewski argues that psychopaths are terrified of fully-functional humans. They know full well that they don’t fit in, that they lack essential qualities and abilities, and further that were this fact exposed to their normal peers, they would be in serious trouble. This is for them, as stated, an existential fear. To defend themselves against the ever-present threat of exposure, they seek power, enough power to transform the whole world into a society that favours them, that secures their safety and prosperity.

Lobaczewski’s work also sketches out some proposals on what to do about this very dangerous issue, with laudable dispassion and compassion for both psychopathic and normal human beings. It is only by doing the difficult work of learning to love our enemies, he argues, that we will be able to set up societal structures, institutions and forms of governance that are sufficiently immune to psychopathy in all its forms. Hence the profound importance of the contents of Political Ponerology; a sustainably healthy future for all mankind depends, in part, on solving this ancient problem.

Very very repetitive. Could quite possibly have been 100 pages shorter

The publication itself was a pretty rare one but thankfully it has now been published. As to the content, I have yet to read several other books, but form browsing the contents, it seems a very timely publication especially with the emergence of the extreme right wing activists in the USA, Russia and Germany.