Orwell predicted that in such a situation the god-kings would be so corrupted by power that they’d stop caring about efficiency and personal wealth at all, and instead would turn to deriving pleasure from sadism alone. I don’t know whether that’s right, but history seems to suggest that power indeed drives men from mere cruelty to insanity.
That’s what happens with someone who’s obsessed with domination and control, yes. I’m talking about someone who is completely confident in their mastery of the situation, regardless of whether that mastery is acknowledged. Someone who doesn’t care whether the minions call themselves “friend” or “enemy,” whether they’re loyal or rebellious, just pushes the right buttons to maximize productivity.
I don’t think that any actual sociopaths, as observed in society, ever want to maximise efficiency as an end in itself, when it doesn’t coincide with their other personal goals. This would absolutely require not selfish whim, but a complex commitment, both an intellectual and emotional one, which is usually labeled as “obsession”—not a generally approved trait—yet is mostly found in extraordinarily mentally developed people, not deficient ones.
Consider Albert Speer; he was thought an administrative and organisational prodigy by many, and even his detractors admit his intelligence and talent (and yes, no opinion of his subordinates would’ve likely bothered him) - and yet, despite his limited and naively technocratic outlook at first, when he became Armament Minister, he clearly struggled with his conscience to ignore the criminality of Nazi regime, tried to improve conditions for the slave workers that he employed, and even overturned Hitler’s orders to destroy German infrastructure near the end of the war. Do you think that a human being could be found who would optimize arms production better than Speer, yet remained more loyal than him to a cause neither logical, nor moral (for any definition of “moral” quickly available to us), nor feasible?
In short, I think that what you demand is a greater contradiction in traits and behavior than Speer or other technocrats of his caliber displayed—almost certainly greater than what humanity’s historically observed diversity permits.
I don’t think that any actual sociopaths, as observed in society, ever want to maximise efficiency as an end in itself, when it doesn’t coincide with their other personal goals.
Well… I could see how, if I were a perfect sociopath, I would be interested in maximizing overall efficiency. When I rule the world, I want it to be a worthwhile thing to possess.
Orwell predicted that in such a situation the god-kings would be so corrupted by power that they’d stop caring about efficiency and personal wealth at all, and instead would turn to deriving pleasure from sadism alone. I don’t know whether that’s right, but history seems to suggest that power indeed drives men from mere cruelty to insanity.
That’s what happens with someone who’s obsessed with domination and control, yes. I’m talking about someone who is completely confident in their mastery of the situation, regardless of whether that mastery is acknowledged. Someone who doesn’t care whether the minions call themselves “friend” or “enemy,” whether they’re loyal or rebellious, just pushes the right buttons to maximize productivity.
I don’t think that any actual sociopaths, as observed in society, ever want to maximise efficiency as an end in itself, when it doesn’t coincide with their other personal goals. This would absolutely require not selfish whim, but a complex commitment, both an intellectual and emotional one, which is usually labeled as “obsession”—not a generally approved trait—yet is mostly found in extraordinarily mentally developed people, not deficient ones.
Consider Albert Speer; he was thought an administrative and organisational prodigy by many, and even his detractors admit his intelligence and talent (and yes, no opinion of his subordinates would’ve likely bothered him) - and yet, despite his limited and naively technocratic outlook at first, when he became Armament Minister, he clearly struggled with his conscience to ignore the criminality of Nazi regime, tried to improve conditions for the slave workers that he employed, and even overturned Hitler’s orders to destroy German infrastructure near the end of the war. Do you think that a human being could be found who would optimize arms production better than Speer, yet remained more loyal than him to a cause neither logical, nor moral (for any definition of “moral” quickly available to us), nor feasible?
In short, I think that what you demand is a greater contradiction in traits and behavior than Speer or other technocrats of his caliber displayed—almost certainly greater than what humanity’s historically observed diversity permits.
Well… I could see how, if I were a perfect sociopath, I would be interested in maximizing overall efficiency. When I rule the world, I want it to be a worthwhile thing to possess.