The Psychopaths in the Office
Former Nottingham Trent University business professor Clive R. Boddy is hot on the trail of one of the crucial social questions of our time: Are the people at the helm of our financial institutions “corporate psychopaths” who lack a “conscience, have few emotions and display an inability to have any feelings, sympathy or empathy for other people”?
Former Nottingham Trent University business professor Clive R. Boddy is hot on the trail of one of the crucial social questions of our time: Are the people at the helm of our financial institutions “corporate psychopaths” who lack a “conscience, have few emotions and display an inability to have any feelings, sympathy or empathy for other people”?
Unfortunately, Boddy’s short essay, published in the Journal of Business Ethics, is inconclusive. But the evidence promises a fascinating debate for those who take it up, one that could lead to a radical reworking of the way we organize and run all of our major institutions. –ARK
Dig, Root, GrowSan Francisco Chronicle:
Boddy doesn’t name names, but the type of personality he describes is recognizable to all from the financial crisis.
He says the unnamed “they” seem “to be unaffected” by the corporate collapses they cause. These psychopaths “present themselves as glibly unbothered by the chaos around them, unconcerned about those who have lost their jobs, savings and investments, and as lacking any regrets about what they have done. They cheerfully lie about their involvement in events, are very convincing in blaming others for what has happened and have no doubts about their own worth and value. They are happy to walk away from the economic disaster that they have managed to bring about, with huge payoffs and with new roles advising governments how to prevent such economic disasters.”
This year, we’re all on shaky ground, and the need for independent journalism has never been greater. A new administration is openly attacking free press — and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Your support is more than a donation. It helps us dig deeper into hidden truths, root out corruption and misinformation, and grow an informed, resilient community.
Independent journalism like Truthdig doesn't just report the news — it helps cultivate a better future.
Your tax-deductible gift powers fearless reporting and uncompromising analysis. Together, we can protect democracy and expose the stories that must be told.
This spring, stand with our journalists.
Dig. Root. Grow. Cultivate a better future.
Donate today.
Editorial Cartoons
The president tips the sector, which is about 14% of the U.S. gross national product, into recession with his trade war with China.
As California goes, so goes the nation, and legislators around the U.S. are looking to the West as Los Angeles makes a bid to break with the nation's biggest banks.
The economic collapse that struck panic into the heart of U.S. political and financial institutions gave birth to a popular movement that continues to this day.
Beverly Gologorsky's new book is "a rare working-class novel ... about the 2007-2009 foreclosure crisis and how it hit not those 'too big to fail,' but those too small not to be clobbered by it," writes TomDispatch editor Tom Engelhardt.
If we're not simply to survive this present crisis, we must confront the consolidation of executive power that brought us here.
You need to be a supporter to comment.
There are currently no responses to this article.
Be the first to respond.