Fixing our growing world-wide economic crisis will probably require
tighter government oversight and regulation of financial practices.
This "blowing away the smoke" approach is necessary, but perhaps not
deep enough to "put out the fire." Economic theories and financial
systems have certainly contributed to the widespread economic
disasters, but the character and motives of the people managing large
sums of money needs to be explored and understood if we wish to
address the deeper roots of the problems. The popular buzz word
explaining the psychology of Wall Street running wild and reckless is
greed. Although this term seems accurate, it does not come close to
describing the underlying psychopathology of many of the individuals
or the devastating impact on large segments of society.

On December 12, 2004, the New York Times published an article by
Michael Steinberger titled "Psychopathic CEO's," wherein he
speculates on the motives of "lavishly compensated CEO's who cheat
and lie," Relying on the research of Paul Babiak and Robert Hare, he
suggests that many captains of industry are "sub-criminal
psychopaths," not serial rapists or murderers, but smooth-talking,
energetic, charming, manipulative, narcissistic, and ruthless. He
emphasizes that the frenzied nature of modern business, constant down
sizing, relentless merging and acquiring, provides a very fertile
environment for havoc-wreaking psychopaths who thrive on chaos and
risk-taking. As Hare put it in one interview, "If I couldn't study
psychopaths in prison, I would go down to the Stock Exchange."

Three years layer, on December 19, 2007, FastCompany,com
published "Is You Boss a Psychopath?" by Alan Deutschman. He
describes a lecture that Hare gave in 2002 to 150 police and law
enforcement officials, including a proposal that "recent corporate
scandals (Enron and WorldCom) could have been prevented if CEO's were
screened for psychopathic behavior." Hare claims that "We are
worshipful of top executives who seem charismatic, visionary, and
tough. So long as they are lifting profits and stock prices, we are
willing to overlook that they can also be callous, conning,
manipulative, deceitful,verbally and psychologically abusive,
remorseless, exploitative, self-delusional, irresponsible, and
megalomaniacal. So we collude in the elevation of leaders who are
sadly insensitive to hurting others and society at large." Babiak
elaborates by comparing the narcissist, who simply thinks only of
himself, to a psychopath who enjoys hurting others.

Transposing Hare's and Babiak's assumptions from business and finance
to government, it is appalling to contemplate the implications of
people in positions of economic and political power who are possibly
borderline psychopaths. When you add up the massive physical,
mental, and economic suffering caused by war, torture, layoffs,
depleted retirement investments, foreclosures, poverty, and
insufficient medical care, a disturbing questions arises. Are these
conditions intended by psychopaths in positions of economic and
political power?