Key Points
Narcissism is psychologically unhealthy, leads to antisocial behavior, and causes everyone, including the narcissist, to suffer.
People increasingly place unrealistic demands on society and government to meet their perceived needs.
Me, me, me, me, me, me. We have become a nation of narcissists. We are so focused on superficial personal identity that we become obsessed with race, ethnicity, gender, and political ideology. Tattoos, piercings, and body-enhancing surgery are not enough to satisfy our self-obsession.
Like the mythical Narcissus who saw his reflection in a swimming pool, we see ourselves and applaud ourselves for our superficial outward appearance. What matters most to narcissists and society as a whole is who they are, what they do and what they have achieved, and how they contribute to society.
Narcissism includes the desire for recognition or admiration, the desire to be the center of attention, and the expectation of special treatment that reflects a desire for higher status. While this may be understandable, narcissism leads to the pursuit of psychologically unhealthy selfish behaviors, which exacerbate an underlying lack of empathy and self-esteem that hinders psychological maturation. Narcissists may resort to virtue signaling to compensate for their lack of virtue.
Ironically, a focus on superficial aspects of identity often stems from low self-esteem. Narcissists may desperately try to avoid self-loathing. Because others may be blamed for causing such negative feelings, narcissists often seethe with antisocial rage. They may try to justify antisocial behavior as compensation for perceived mistreatment. Here is a brief list of the social harms that narcissists are likely to cause:
Cheating, deceit, and lying have become the new normal, especially in education, business, politics, and the media. Crime is rampant and growing in all major cities. Riots driven by a range of ideologies from left to right appear to be on the rise. Parents are abandoning their children in droves. Marriage is in decline; More couples are intentionally childless.
The prevalence of alcohol, drugs, sex, and other addictions increases the number of people who contribute little to society and need support services from others.
Narcissistic hostility leads to people who believe in hateful names and avoidance, increasing social alienation.
The belittling of others for their “bad” beliefs and behaviors is exacerbated when narcissists hypocritically do the same bad things and excuse the mistakes of those in their in-group.
People place increasingly unrealistic demands on society and government to meet their perceived needs
What the world needs is less selfishness and a personal focus on gratitude, work ethic, achievement, moral and personal standards, and helping others.
Selfishness is our god. We worship ourselves. It causes suffering for everyone, including narcissists.
