Episode Details

What if the world at the moment seems insane because the people running its conflicts are in fact clinically psychotic? This is what I discuss today with the retired psychiatrist Dr. Niall MacLaren. We talk about his biocognitive model and how a craving for dominance dictates the actions of modern empires. His book, Narcisso-Fascism, explains why nations act like playground bullies and why we keep electing narcissists who love the rush of power. It is a deep dive into the testosterone economy and the biological reasons why peace is so hard to find in a world obsessed with being number one.

Links:

Niall MacLaren Substack: https://niallmclaren.substack.com

Niall MacLaren Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/author/B001JOY002

Neutrality Studies substack: https://pascallottaz.substack.com

(Opt in for Academic Section from your profile settings: https://pascallottaz.substack.com/s/academic)

Merch & Donations: https://neutralitystudies-shop.fourthwall.com

Timestamps:

00:00:00 The biocognitive model of politics

00:03:14 The testosterone economy and dominance

00:07:22 Psychology versus offensive realism

00:14:10 American psyche and the colonial mindset

00:21:30 How hierarchies attract the wrong people

00:28:00 Treating the narcissism of a nation

00:36:50 The fatal flaw of human competition

00:51:30 Replacing elections with random lotteries

00:54:30 Setting limits on global power struggles