Egotism: The Chief of Human Faults

On the varieties of being right, even when you're wrong

Lobaczewski called egotism the chief of human faults. He mentions it over 80 times in Political Ponerology. While a standard English dictionary defines it as something like being “conceited,” “self-absorbed,” “self-important,” “arrogant,” or even “self-centered,” Lobaczewski defines it as “the attitude—habitual and subconsciously conditioned as a rule—by which we attribute excessive value to our instinctive reflexes, early-acquired notions and archetypes, and individual natural worldview.” In other words, habitually overvaluing one’s own beliefs, opinions, and impulses.

While a tiny minority of people lack any detectable egotism—or at least come close to that ideal—the rest of us all demonstrate it to some degree. Most commonly, we tend to put our trust in the “common knowledge” we have learned since childhood—the ideas and beliefs with which we describe the world, and which we have learned from our parents, peers, and countrymen—and the books we have read along the way. That much might be normal—even beneficial for survival and getting along—but we also tend to be convinced of its rightness, even in situations where it is only adequate or where it fails us. If we are relatively well read or educated, with some knowledge of and respect for philosophical, scientific, and religious ideas, we might even think we have an objective basis for judging the world and other people. That is not to say that all such ideas are wrong, just that we overestimate their accuracy, value, and usefulness. We are too certain of our worldview, our judgments, and our courses of action. We don’t consider that our knowledge is by necessity incomplete, often wrong, and sometimes counterproductive, leading us to make foolish and costly mistakes.

We can see the seeds of egotism in children, who often come home from school repeating new ideas as if they were gospel-truth, even if they can give no rational reason for believing such things—and even if no rational justification exists for them (e.g., what many schools teach regarding “gender”). And teenage egotism is the stuff of legends. Most of us were convinced we knew it all and knew it better than all the adults telling us how naive and foolish we actually were. (Which isn’t to say they were always right.) Part of proper child-rearing is to combat this egotism. When it isn’t confronted—when we are coddled and spoiled, raised in a sheltered and overly comfortable environment, or educated by people less intelligent than we are—many of us stay that way into adulthood. But perhaps the main cause of excessive egotism is being raised by people with pathological egotism, i.e., people with various personality disorders. Through constant exposure, emotional ties with the parent(s), unconscious imitation of their tendencies, and mental “resonance,” children can come to adopt this attitude for themselves.

Unfortunately, character cannot develop in the presence of excessive egotism, and “protecting” children from the discomfort of having their emotional egotism challenged only creates a septic mixture of entitlement and fragility. This may explain the so-called “narcissism” epidemic among young people today—a generation of single-child Chinese princelings, coddled by their parents’ neurotic “safetyism” and fear of causing their children even the slightest bit of discomfort.

Despite their self-confidence, egotists are ruled by their emotions and their subconscious life, primarily the fear of “disintegration” that accompanies an acknowledgment of one’s ignorance. Personality development requires states of inner conflict that break down old habits, whether they are cognitive, emotional, or behavioral. This is a normal and healthy process, but it is distinctly uncomfortable.

I still recall the sting of one of my first forays into egotistical overconfidence as a child (maybe 10 years old, give or take). Some family friends were over to celebrate Christmas. We young ones were upstairs doing kid stuff. For some reason a few of us were playing with a desk globe. My geography knowledge wasn’t great (it is only slightly better today…), but having heard the word “equator” several times, and upon seeing a country named “Ecuador,” I was convinced it must have been pronounced the same way—why would there be a country on the equator, whose name looked almost identical to that word, yet it not be pronounced the same way? The very idea was absurd! (I should add that even at this young age, I had a natural talent for spelling and could correctly pronounce many words that kids my age could not. I had some reason to be confident in this domain.) But pride comes before the fall. I was so convinced that I made a bet with my rival (who was a handful of years my senior, and who, it turns out, knew his geography better than I). I was so convinced, I bet money I did not have. When our energetic argument was brought before a jury of our elders, and I heard the confidently enunciated yet wrong-sounding pronouncement—“It’s ECKwador”—the entire contents of my thoracic cavity sank into the pit of my stomach. Thankfully, my friendly rival was satisfied just with being proven right, and I escaped the consequence of having to scrounge together $5 I did not have.¹ But I learned my lesson, and I still remember that feeling.

Egotism “protects” the personality from such states, as it “protected” me, at least during the short time until reality brought me down a peg or two and shattered that aspect of my egotism. As long as it continues to do so, it also prevents any further growth or development of character. It prevents us from self-correcting, from acknowledging first that we might be wrong, and second that we actually are, and that we need to update our beliefs and the habits that led us to come to a certain conclusion or to make a certain decision. A less sensitive child might not have reacted as I did. They might have made excuses (“Well, it should be pronounced like equator—I was right to think so”), or doubted even their elders (“What do they know!”). They might even continue to pronounce it wrongly “out of principle.” Some egotists are harder to crack.

When confronted with contradictory data that happens to be true, this often triggers an “egotistical opposition” to such data. We reject it out of hand, despite the fact that accepting it would actually benefit us. Egotists may even be contemptuous of those who know better, rolling their eyes, scoffing at the criticism and certain their critics are clueless idiots. This can happen for any number of “subconsciously conditioned” reasons. Maybe we are emotionally invested in our profession and our “informed” opinion. (“Trust the science.”) Maybe we have an image to uphold—an image as someone who is authoritative, consistently “right” in their judgments and interpretations, of superior intelligence and quickness of mind. Maybe we see being unsure of oneself as a personal weakness, and we certainly don’t want others to lose their trust in us by appearing weak or “wrong.” Ironically, the egotist is only fooling himself, and perhaps a small circle of people who believe whatever he says. Others already see that he is wrong—and an egotist. Which is better? To be wrong but convinced you are right, and causing problems for others who know it? Or to admit to yourself that you are wrong, and become right?

The egotistical rejection of such disintegrative states creates fertile ground for para-appropriate reactions—behaviors that are inappropriate for the situation at hand. Maybe it leads you to make an erroneous conclusion or a bad decision. For example, a misguided trust in the goodness of all people—or overconfidence in your gambling skills—may cause you to be conned out of your savings. Or you may just come to a firmly-held conclusion about some state of affairs in your life or the world that rests on weak foundations and poorer reasoning. Excessive egotism enters the picture when you hold that interpretation too tightly and propagate it too forcefully. Others will see you as too sure of yourself and too certain in your conclusion, especially when the evidence for it is ambiguous and doesn’t warrant any hard conclusion. (“But it’s obvious!”)

An egotist measures others by his own yardstick. He treats his own beliefs and way of thinking as objectively true and believes everyone else should think and feel as he does. Anyone who doesn’t do so is an idiot. There is obviously something wrong with them if they cannot see things the way he sees them. Might as well let them know! Naturally, such people with an “egotistical belief in their own genius” can be difficult to get along with. As Lobaczewski put it: “Difficulties, disputes, serious problems, and neurotic reactions sprout up around [them] like mushrooms after a rainfall.”

Big egotists come across as self-satisfied, haughty, narrow-minded, excessively emotional (though they would never admit it—some of the most emotional people think they are the most stoic), and incapable of understanding others’ perspectives, even when they are explained clearly. By blocking the self from new and better information, egotism hampers one’s reason and imagination from making new and creative discoveries, from improving our thinking processes, from understanding ourselves and others better, from becoming more emotionally resilient, and thus from making better decisions for ourselves, our families, and our nations.

If you are enjoying this exploration of egotism, your humble author would ask you to consider becoming a paid subscriber. On any other Substack you might see a big fat paywall notice at this point—or even earlier. I do not like putting anything behind a paywall (and I like making appeals such as these even less), so any voluntary remuneration is most appreciated—but only if you can afford it. I would not want my readers repeating my own childhood mistake by trading in currency they do not possess. Speaking of which, when considering compound interest, my debt to my childhood rival is probably reaching equatorial proportions. Assuming I ever see him again at some point in the future, consider that a portion of any small subscription may eventually be put to use righting old wrongs. And if a recurring subscription is too much, consider subscribing for only a month or two. You’ll have the opportunity to join in on our weekly Saturday Zoom chats and get to know some very interesting and conversationally engaging people. Every bit helps. (And, of course, my continued and heartfelt thanks go out to all my existing patrons—I couldn’t do it without you!)

I have noticed several variants of egotism, or egotism displayed in various contexts. A brief rundown of some of them follows.

Religious egotism: The religious egotist is convinced he and his particular religious tradition have it all figured out. The excessive egotist would like to actively convert others to their particular religion or denomination, sometimes going to extreme lengths in order to do so. Alternative or parallel sources of information are avoided. “Everything I need to know is in the Bible.” I personally consider the doctrine of biblical inerrancy, for instance, to be a form of officially mandated egotism. The acknowledgment of even minor contradictions or anachronisms in Scripture is vehemently rejected, because if one word falls, so does the entire edifice (at least if one accepts inerrancy). I don’t know the ratio of Christians who stay because of inerrancy versus those who leave because they run afoul of it, but I’d be interested in finding out.

Boomer egotism: The boomer egotist is convinced that conditions for young people today are the same as they were when the boomer was their age. They measure zoomers by the boomer’s yardstick, and believe that zoomers should think, feel, and behave as they do (or did). The boomer egotist believes he has figured it all out: life, politics, morality. Variants of this type include the CNN boomer and the Fox News boomer, both equally resistant to having their preconceived notions challenged.

Military officer egotism: The bane of Sharpe’s existence and many a military grunt. (It’s a common TV and movie trope.) Such officers (often upper-class twits and sheltered aristocrats in the Sharpe novels and show) are arrogant, incompetent, and cruel, sure of their own military genius even as they get the “rankers” killed through their own vainglorious egotism. They reject good advice from others and disdain those who give it. As socio-occupationally upjumped incompetents, they are obsessed with drill, parade-ground appearance, and flogging, yet useless or cowardly in real combat.

Skeptical egotism: The Michael Shermers and Richard Dawkinses of the world. “It is impossible and cannot be real, therefore it isn’t.” So certain are they of their philosophical and scientific priors that they will deny anomalies that are staring them in the face. They form absolute and certain conclusions often with only a cursory glance at the relevant data, not feeling the need to look deeper or consider that anomalies may point to holes in their existing worldview. The militant atheists view “believers” with contempt and believe everyone should think as they do. Their missionary zeal sometimes rivals that of their religious enemies.

Conspiracist egotism: The skeptics’ more gullible counterparts, conspiracist egotists have never met an alternative theory they did not believe on sight. From flat earth to mud floods to more minor conspiracies dealing with almost every public event, it is not necessarily that these conspiracists are wrong (they are often correct, in my view, at least in the broad strokes) so much as they are certain that their own particular theories are true down to the last detail. Challenge them on any point—even with the intention of making their case stronger by removing the chaff—and you will be accused of lacking a functioning brain or being a “glowie” (i.e., fed) shill. The archetypal conspiracist egotist is the self-satisfied basement dweller, whose furrowed brow and constant eye-rolling have left permanent traces.

Performative egotism: One of the least pernicious forms, by my estimation, this has been elevated to a form of art on platforms like X. Posters acknowledge or exaggerate their own egotism, transforming it into an ironic display of self-aware bravado. Exemplified by the Gigachad meme, the performative egotist presents as completely assured in his opinions and convictions, requiring no explanation or justification beyond mere assertion, delivered in a playful manner. Real egotism may in fact motivate such posting, but if that is so, it is masked behind good-natured and sometimes equally self-deprecating humor.

National egotism: One specific variant noted by Lobaczewski as an expression of the egotism of individuals operating at a national level.

Egotist nations have the subconscious goal of teaching or forcing other nations to think in their own categories, which makes them incapable of understanding other people and nations or becoming familiar with the values of their cultures. … Egotist nations start wasting money and effort in order to achieve goals derived from their erroneous reasoning and overly emotional reactions.

Foreign-policy wonks and neocons take note. National egotists are convinced that their schemes will bring “democracy” to nations with no history of the practice. Their beloved wars will always be a cakewalk, but never turn out to be so. Their plans most often backfire, worsening the conditions they set out to correct. Their critics are denounced in whatever terms necessary to stifle their dissent. Aided and emboldened by CNN and Fox News egotists, they never learn from their mistakes and are equally certain their next plot will succeed where all previous ones failed.

Pathological egotism: Also described by Lobaczewski, this variant applies to individuals with specific inherited or acquired personality and character disorders such as psychopathy and certain forms of brain damage. Such people are particularly aggressive and noxious in interpersonal and social interactions, particularly when they remove their “mask of sanity.” Their egotism is pathological because it results from their repression of any acknowledgment of their own abnormality. They are convinced of their own normality and the world’s abnormality, and are ruled by a drive to cripple the psychology of those around them, forcing them to feel and think in their own pathological manner. This type of egotism is the driving force of secular and religious totalitarianism, and gives them their particular, terroristic character.

Protective mechanisms: Lobaczewski makes a few recommendations for correcting excessive egotism. These include learning to think critically, both of others and of oneself. Equally important is gaining control of one’s emotions, and the self-awareness which is necessary in order to do so. Adopting the attitude of a naturalist helps in this regard (as it helped Lobaczewski himself in his study of ponerology under communism), though it is not a sure thing. There are plenty of scientific egotists, as we all know too well today. However, truly scientific methodology has a lot going for it. When practiced sincerely, a thinker strives to be aware of his own assumptions, leaps of logic, and the possible alternative explanations for the same set of limited evidence. Hunches may be trusted (Lobaczewski also speaks highly of such intuition, especially in critical situations where the data necessary for clear and accurate inference-making is lacking), but they are acknowledged as such. A clear thinker may trust their own hunches, but they shouldn’t expect others to take them at face value. When in doubt, just cite your source, like these Gigachads:

A classic meme of performative egotism.

Another method is to take someone out of their zone of comfort into a totally different environment. Lobaczewski thought highly of the American Peace Corps in this regard. He also recommended that the children of royalty be raised in normal contact with society, not isolating them from normal life experiences and exposure to the real problems in their country. Perhaps CEOs should disguise themselves as regular employees more often.

All of these methods probably work better if taught during childhood and young adulthood. That’s not to say it is impossible for adults to get over their egotism, just that some nuts are simply too old to crack.

1. I should have learned my lesson years earlier, when, on a vacation in the Rocky Mountains (probably Banff), I excitedly told my family I wanted to ride the “godzilla” and was met with peals of laughter, prompting a flow of tears of the deepest shame and mortification. What can I say, I was a slow learner!