In this session we finished Chapter 4, covering the final sections on ponerogenic associations, ideologies, and macrosocial phenomena. Some specific topics included:
ponerogenic groups, including gangs, mafias, activist movements, revolutionary parties, and ruling classes
the role of ideology in such groups—from simple motivating ideas to grand political visions—from knitting clubs to large political movements
two macrosocial states: hysteria and pathocracy, and how one leads to the other
the ponerization process, or how normal groups go bad
the ponerogenic group social structure, and how it mimics or caricatures normal social organization
old age as a ponerogenic factor and the implications for current demographic trends
why the populist/working class voice needs to be taken seriously—its higher resistance to elite hysteria
and more!
For the next session, read the first sections of Chapter 5 (stopping at the beginning of “Pathocracy and Its Ideology”). For readers with the print copy, this will be pages 179-203.
The next session is scheduled for Saturday, February 3 at 12:30 pm.
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