Addiction to power
Dr. Mohsen Renani
It was in April 1989 that I read the Persian translation of the book “Jabarit” written by the famous German psychologist “Manes Schperber”. This book is a psychological analysis of the changes that a long stay in power creates in the personality and psychological structure of those in power and even makes them suffer from some latent mental illnesses. In such a way that from one point on, neither they can make a change in themselves, nor do others dare to warn them about the disease!
On the other hand, the pleasure caused by strength increases the release of dopamine and serotonin hormones in the brain, which gradually causes the desire to repeat this pleasure, which causes the person to try to achieve more strength.
On the other hand, the continuous increase in the secretion of these hormones leads to brain addiction to them, and then this addiction prompts the person to try harder to expand his power day by day so that his pleasure from his power does not decrease (exactly like when addicts have to increase their dosage) The inspectors do not decrease their satisfaction).
And it happens that little by little a normal healthy person turns into a sick dictator when he stays in power for a long time.
It doesn’t matter, this dictatorial spirit can be at home, in the office, in the ministry or in the bakery.
Any situation that gives us a feeling of power can make us addicted, and for this reason we resist changing that situation.
The same Sperber explains well why it is not possible to have dictatorial rulers in a society where ordinary people are not dictators in their homes and factories.
For the past twenty years, most of my writings, speeches, and social and scientific efforts have been aimed at changing the mentality of politicians or political and civil activists.
But today I feel that all these efforts have not had the effect I expected.
Now, after twenty years of efforts in the field of political economy, I have almost been called to do something for this Kurdish country “from above”. In fact, the problems that I mentioned do not allow hearing to be found in those places.
Up there, it’s serotonin and dopamine that drive the authorities, not sympathetic elites and wise counselors and developmentalists.
Left or right, it doesn’t matter; Almost 90% of the main authorities in Keshurma are duplicates. This means that posts and positions rotate between a certain number of people.
There are managers who stay in one place for forty years and then move to another place. Neither the government can change them nor will they allow it to happen.
Not long ago, a friend who had reached the position of deputy minister said that someone who had previously been a general manager had come and almost begged to appoint me to a management position. His salary is not important, his location is not important, his type of work is not important, just be management. This is the same addiction that does not allow anything to change.
How accurate is this sentence attributed to Mark Twain, the American writer and satirist, who said: Politicians and children’s diapers should be changed soon; Both for the same reason!
It was with these reflections and considerations that I have decided to gradually shift the direction of my studies and civil efforts from “political economy” to the field of “child and development”. Many studies in institutional economics and behavioral economics show that the inability of adults and politicians to cooperate for the development of their country is due to the lack of characteristics and capabilities in their childhood.
This post is written by AliVosoughi