Rating: 
Summary: Psychologizing The Empire
Review: "Already the lack of any spontaneous welcome from Shi-ites and the fierce resistance of armed irregulars have prompted the theory that the Iraqis are a 'sick people' who will need protracted treatment before they can be entrusted with their own fate (if ever). Such was the line taken by the Blairite columnist David Aaronovitch in the Observer. Likewise, George Mellon in the Wall Street Journal warns: 'Iraq Won't Easily Recover From Saddam's Terror': 'after three decades of rule of the Arab equivalent of Murder Inc, Iraq is a very sick society'. To develop an 'orderly society' and re-energize (privatize) the economy will take time, he insists. On the front page of the Sunday Times, its reporter Mark Franchetti quoted an American nco: "The Iraqis are a sick people and we are the chemotherapy', said Corporal Ryan Dupre. 'I am starting to hate this country. Wait till I get hold of a friggin' Iraqi. No I won't get hold of one. I'll just kill him." The report in Murdoch's flagship paper goes on to describe how his unit killed not one but several Iraqi civilians later that day. No doubt the 'sick society' theory will acquire greater sophistication, but it is clear the pretexts are to hand for a mixture of Guantanamo and Gaza in these newly Occupied Territories." -Tariq Ali, "Re-Colonizing Iraq," New Left Review May-June 2003.This paragraph from a recent Tariq Ali article in the New Left Review is a handy one to have around anytime critics of U.S. foreign policy try to cast the neo-cons currently in power in Washington as a bunch of insane buffoons. The point of the paragraph above is to demonstrate that anybody, ardent exponents of the Empire included, can use medical metaphors to describe the actions and ideas of individuals they disagree with. There is simply no objective test for making propositions based on notions of medical psychology. These kinds of propositions are completely subjective. The conclusions reached by the exponents of this line of arguing are simply using medical language to make arguments against individuals and ideas they are in disagreement with. I wouldn't expect anything else other than a psychological profile of the Empire from Harvard psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton, author of The Nazi Doctors and many other books, whose career has made him into a national theologian on the issue of psychology in times of crisis and war. In his latest book, Superpower Syndrome, Lifton argues that the U.S. nation is in the grip of a psychopathology. Hence the "medical metaphor meant to suggest aberrant behavior that is not just random but part of a more general psychological and political constellation. That constellation - the syndrome - developed in the aftermath of World War II but has recently taken an extreme, world-endangering form." Not only is the Empire in the grip of a psychopathology, but the Empire's current top sparing partner in the world today, militant Islam represented most visibly by Osama bin-Laden and his al-Qaeda organization, is as well. Propositions like this are great for attempting to deprive individuals of moral agency and making somebody like Lifton look like a great thinker. Meanwhile. on the domestic front of the Empire, Lifton sees "Beneath its (U.S.) belligerence, I believe that country is now enmeshed in a landscape of fear. Yet we do possess a democratic tradition that allows for critical self-examination and constructive change in our national life." Like with almost every psychiatrist, Lifton feels no need to mention that this democratic tradition of ours is one that is trampled on by psychiatry on a daily basis, where people not charged with crimes, a.k.a. "psychiatric patients," are incarcerated for being in disagreement with members of their families and/or society. Lifton makes it clear that his vision of change is anything but democratic when he writes that "Diagnosing our ailment can be a step toward its amelioration or possibly even its cure." So what are we supposed to do to cure ourselves of our national "psychosis" if we accept Lifton's proposition? Dump neuroleptic drugs into the water supply of the nation (In Toxic Psychiatry, Peter Breggin documents a serious proposal by psychiatrists in the past to dump a psych drug into the water supply)? On the future of the Empire, Lifton argues that "its reach for full-scale world domination marks the beginning of its decline. A large task for the world, and for Americans in particular, is the early recognition and humane management of that decline." I think we are long way away from seeing the beginning of the decline of the Empire in the immediate future. I think we should be prepared for a period of consolidation and expansion by the Empire. The military and technological dominance of the Empire is what it is. U.S. military spending now is almost as much as the rest of the world combined. No nation in history has every had this kind military advantage over the rest of the world and we should expect Washington to continue to use it to its advantage. Again, there is nothing "crazy" about Washington doing this. Every nation with imperialist ambitions in history has done this with its military power, just not on the global scale the U.S. is doing it today. Those of us opposed to this policy of imperialist war making by Washington should not fall for the intellectually convenient trap of pathologizing an ideology we are opposed to, as Lifton has done in Superpower Syndrome.
Rating: 
Summary: An unusual angle on current events
Review: Dr. Lifton puts George W. Bush, the latter's advisors and their policies on the psychoanalyst's couch, and offers us a not very flattering portrait; the combining of Christianity and military fundamentalism comes across as hypocritical, misguided and dangerous (not being Christian, I have never understood why some followers of the pacifist Christ are the first to wage war). The author, a Harvard psychiatrist, is obsessed with the hope for peace, stating America can (and must) do better, of being more humane, more respectful of other cultures, and apply her considerable resources to the betterment of the world community. It is naive and dangerous to reduce complex situations to simplistic 'us against them', 'black vs. white' equations. Any extremism, whether Oriental or Occidental, will have disastrous, far reaching consequences. To me, he is less concerned with politics than the broader dimension of ethics -- what is right in the long term for the entire world, rather than operating on a one sided, perhaps personally motivated, agenda. Saddam Hussein, the catalyst for this book, is more a scapegoat for Bush's apocalyptic battle visions a la Revelations, not a monster on the same level as Hitler or Stalin. During the 1980's, I remember the perception of Hussein as a progressive moderate -- and a smiling Rumfeld shaking hands with him over the sale of biological and chemical weapons (which of course are now long gone and/or degraded). White House policies, following the 9/11 attack on America's self concept of power and superiority, have ironically resulted in aggravating the causes of terrorism. The more entrenched both become, the worse off the world. It is interesting to note that Bush is perhaps the only president in the last forty or fifty who is pushing his scientists into further developing nuclear weapons, albeit low grade ones, for use in modern conflicts. There are countries from whom America can learn: New Zealand, with progressive social programs, a visionary foreign policy, attention to the environment, and proportional representation, is an oft overlooked member of the international community.
Rating:
Summary: "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil."
Review: Freud and Bertrand Russell have both examined the roots of popular religion in psychology. The purpose of religion, they observe, is to give the appearance of respectability to the passions of fear, conceit and hatred, provided they run through certain channels. (See Russell, "Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization?") In his book, SUPERPOWER SYNDROME, National Book Award winner, Robert Jay Lifton, examines our country's popular religion and current politics in drawing similar conclusions about our "national mindset." Lifton is a psychiatrist and renowned scholar on the subjects of thought control and mass violence. In SUPERPOWER SYNDROME, he examines the extreme and apocalyptic "mindset" that has been perpetuated by our country's leaders since September 11, 2001. Drawing parallels from the "destructive excesses" of Nazi genocide, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Chinese Communist "thought reform," the Vietnam war, and the apocalyptic actions of Aun Shinrikyo and other global terrorists of the late-twentieth century, Lifton provides his readers with a well-reasoned psychological profile of George Bush's mindset in polarizing the world into good and evil. While he does not claim the Bush administration is a mirror image of bin Ladin or Islamism, Lifton says that Bush's "crusade" to "rid the world of evil" (terminology connoting a Christian holy war) nevertheless suggests a harmful disorder and psychological and political abnormality (p. 187) shared by millions of Americans, including Christian evangelists like Jerry Falwell, Franklin Graham, and Pat Robertson. The symptoms of the superpower psyche include unilateralism in all-important decisions, including those relating to war; the use of high technology to secure the ownership of death and of history; a sense of entitlement concerning the right to identify and destroy all those considered to be terrorists or friends of terrorists, while spreading virtues seen as preeminently ours throughout the world; the right to decide who may possess weapons of mass destruction and who may not; and a righteous vision of ridding the world of evil and purifying it spiritually and politically (p. 188). Before the Bush administration announced last week its plans to send a manned flight to Mars, Lifton noted in his insightful study that our present leaders believe American power extends not over the planet Earth, but through the militarization of space, and over the heavens as well (p. 175). While Lifton's diagnosis is serious, he concludes his psychological and historical analysis "in a spirit of hope." "We can do better," he writes; "America is capable of wiser, more measured approaches, more humane applications of our considerable power and influence in the world" (p. 189). He encourages us to look to the words of Albert Camus in resetting our moral compass, and "to refuse to be a god," which means to reject omniscience and to instead embrace "thought which recognizes limits" (pp. 199-200). Though some readers may reject his diagnosis and opt for a second opinion, Lifton has nevertheless written one of the most important books of our time. Highly recommended. G. Merritt
Rating:
Summary: "Thou shalt not follow a multitude to do evil."
Review: Freud and Bertrand Russell have both examined the roots of popular religion in psychology. The purpose of religion, they observe, is to give the appearance of respectability to the passions of fear, conceit and hatred, provided they run through certain channels. (See Russell, "Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization?") In his book, SUPERPOWER SYNDROME, National Book Award winner, Robert Jay Lifton, examines our country's popular religion and current politics in drawing similar conclusions about our "national mindset." Lifton is a psychiatrist and renowned scholar on the subjects of thought control and mass violence. In SUPERPOWER SYNDROME, he examines the extreme and apocalyptic "mindset" that has been perpetuated by our country's leaders since September 11, 2001. Drawing parallels from the "destructive excesses" of Nazi genocide, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Chinese Communist "thought reform," the Vietnam war, and the apocalyptic actions of Aun Shinrikyo and other global terrorists of the late-twentieth century, Lifton provides his readers with a well-reasoned psychological profile of George Bush's mindset in polarizing the world into good and evil. While he does not claim the Bush administration is a mirror image of bin Ladin or Islamism, Lifton says that Bush's "crusade" to "rid the world of evil" (terminology connoting a Christian holy war) nevertheless suggests a harmful disorder and psychological and political abnormality (p. 187) shared by millions of Americans, including Christian evangelists like Jerry Falwell, Franklin Graham, and Pat Robertson. The symptoms of the superpower psyche include unilateralism in all-important decisions, including those relating to war; the use of high technology to secure the ownership of death and of history; a sense of entitlement concerning the right to identify and destroy all those considered to be terrorists or friends of terrorists, while spreading virtues seen as preeminently ours throughout the world; the right to decide who may possess weapons of mass destruction and who may not; and a righteous vision of ridding the world of evil and purifying it spiritually and politically (p. 188). Before the Bush administration announced last week its plans to send a manned flight to Mars, Lifton noted in his insightful study that our present leaders believe American power extends not over the planet Earth, but through the militarization of space, and over the heavens as well (p. 175). While Lifton's diagnosis is serious, he concludes his psychological and historical analysis "in a spirit of hope." "We can do better," he writes; "America is capable of wiser, more measured approaches, more humane applications of our considerable power and influence in the world" (p. 189). He encourages us to look to the words of Albert Camus in resetting our moral compass, and "to refuse to be a god," which means to reject omniscience and to instead embrace "thought which recognizes limits" (pp. 199-200). Though some readers may reject his diagnosis and opt for a second opinion, Lifton has nevertheless written one of the most important books of our time. Highly recommended. G. Merritt
Rating:
Summary: An excellent look at the Bush presidency
Review: from a different angle. In essence what Dr. Lifton does is to put the Bush administration on the psychiatrist's couch and probe into the psyche of Bush, his cronies, and like-minded ideological extremists. One conclusion that can be readily drawn is that psychologically there is minimal distinction between Bush and his neo-con and Christian extremist cronies and those extremists from other religious and ethnic groups (say, such as the Likudites and Osama bin Ladin & Al Qaida). Lifton does a decent job not only of describing in layman's terms the psychological underpinnings of these extremists, but goes on to show the destructive dynamic that often exists between competing groups of extremists. A must read.
Rating: 
Summary: Alarmist viewpoint
Review: Robert Jay Lifton was given the opportunity to "explain" his book recently on television. Here is how I viewed it: He came across as a very polished speaker with a message to deliver. He analyzed world problems like a psychiatrist(freudian) views a patient. He feels that some conservative religious leaders(and our current President) may have a sort of unconscious "death wish" in fulfilling certain destructive prophesies set forth by literal interpretations of such works as the Book of Revelations.
He then goes on to site that the nuclear age has provided a means to carry this out.
By competing for dominance, "human intrepretation of religious truths" stoke the furnance of our potential destruction.
How we choose to respond to these political(or psychological) events could result in either survival or oblivion.
Which course will we choose?
Rating: 
Summary: Alarmist, Unrealistic, and Extremely Biased!
Review: The author tries to convince us that the Americans have let power go to their heads and have wreaked havoc (and will wreak more and more) on the globe. The author treats the subject of world power as if it were a patient lying on a psychologists couch - a foolish way to explain global politics! Obviously the Americans have done far more good for other countries than bad. Though many mistakes have been made in every presidency, America still remains one of the most financially generous and altruistic nations on the globe! I suggest the author find a more compassionate culture than that of the Americans - His search will yield up no other nation and it is because of our rich moral and ethical heritage. America is not some pathologic killer, but a Gentle Giant in a world of terrorists, egomaniacs, and ruthless dictators such as Saddam Hussein.
Rating:
Summary: One of the most important books published this year
Review: The man who wrote the terrifying book The Nazi Doctors puts the Bush and his adminstration on the couch! A startling and elegant book that analyses America's new apocalyptic mindset, in the context of 9-11, Bush's war on terror and the invasion of Iraq. It also complements Lifton's lifelong work on cults and extreme violence. This is a disturbing and provocative book. not quite the comfort food that many liberals and progressives seem to dine on these days; but this marvellous book also has hope in its heart.
Rating:
Summary: A chilling and accurate analysis
Review: This book is truly amazing. By looking at the actions and motives of the Bush administration through Lifton's psychological perspective, so much of the insanity of our predicament suddenly comes into perspective. Without slandering the Bush administration, Lifton compares their motives and worldview to cults, terrorists, and other militant ideologues, the common thread being their apocalyptic mindset. Lifton reconciles the religious apocalyptic views of Bush with the more secular and political apocalyptic views of those in his administration...and you finally realize that, although they're all coming at it from different angles, they're all equally willing and eager to destroy the world for the sake of glory. Some of the most interesting parts come when Lifton talks about the ideas of "controlling history" and therefore controlling life and death. This explains the apocalyptic mindset of those who don't hold religions as the catalyst. This book is a very interesting, and I think accurate, frame through which to view current events. Criticism of the Bush administration is often dismissed as liberal, Democrat slander. This book was not written from any certain political perspective; it was written from a very humane, psychological perspective. The final diagnosis is less of a critique and more of a warning about the imminent threat posed by the current political status quo. I was telling my sister about this book, and what I thought of it, and she said: "Isn't there a part of you that doesn't want to know these things?" It's an odd question, but understandable. This book is frightening. It forces the reader to consider that we may be in the grips of an apocalyptic cult which, beneath the public-friendly rhetoric about peace and freedom, is motivated by a need to destroy all evil, and all of the world, if necessary.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent psychiatric analysis of 'Superpower Syndrome.'
Review: This concise book is undoubtedly one of the most important critiques of America's foreign policy along with Barber's, Rampton & Stauber's and Daalder & Lindsay's. The author recognizes, for example, the war on Iraq as a manifestation of America's apocalyptic face-off against Islamist forces. Nonetherless, at the heart of 'Superpower Syndrome,' the author argues, lies a powerful fear of vulnerability. This insight that the world only superpower suffers from such ambiguity is an extremely interesting point which only psychiatrists can explore. He also refers to other apocalyptic imaginations such as Islamist's and a Japanese cult called 'Aum.' I really enjoy reading this interesting work!
|
