Political Ponerology: A Science on the Nature of Evil Adjusted for Political Purposes

acceptance of phenomena within ourselves for which naturalis-

tic perception proves insufficient. Parallel to our self knowl-

edge, we also develop our ability to understand other people,

thanks to the acceptance of the existence of an analogous real-

ity within our neighbor.

These values become priceless whenever man is forced into

maximum mental effort and profound deliberations in action so

POLITICAL PONEROLOGY

269

as to avoid stumbling into evil, danger, or exceptional difficul-

ties. If there is no possibility of apprehending a situation fully,

but a way out must nevertheless be found for one’s self, family,

or nation, we are indeed fortunate if we can hear that silent

voice within saying “Don’t do this” or “trust me, do this”.

We could thus say that this cognition and faith simultane-

ously supporting our mind and multiplying our spiritual

strength constitute the sole basis for survival and resistance in

situations wherein a person or nation is threatened by the prod-

ucts of ponerogenesis, which cannot be measured in the catego-

ries of the natural world view. That is the opinion of many

righteous people. We cannot contradict the basic value of such

a conviction, but if it leads to contemptuous treatment of objec-

tive science in this area and reinforces the egotism of the natu-

ral world view, people holding this conviction are unaware of

the fact that they are no longer acting in good faith.

No major religion indicates the nature of the macrosocial

pathological phenomenon; therefore we cannot consider relig-

ious dictates as a specific basis for overcoming this great his-

torical disease. Religion is neither a specific serum nor an ae-

tiotropically active antibiotic with regard to the phenomenon of

pathocracy. Although it constitutes a regenerative factor for the

spiritual strength of individuals and societies, religious truth

does not contain the specific naturalistic knowledge which is

essential for understanding the pathology of the phenomenon,

and which is simultaneously a curative and a resistance gener-

ating factor for human personalities. Rather, religious faith and

the phenomenon of pathocracy are in fact at different levels of

reality, the latter being more earthy. That also explains why

there can be no true collision between religion and the pone-

rological knowledge about the macrosocial pathological phe-

nomenon.

If we based our societal defense and treatment with regard

to destructive influences of pathocracy only upon the truest

religious values, this would be reminiscent of curing an insuffi-

ciently comprehended disease exclusively by measures which

strengthen body and soul. Such general therapy may furnish

satisfactory results in many cases, but it will prove insufficient

270

PATHOCRACY AND RELIGION

in others. This macrosocial disease belongs to the latter cate-

gory.

The fact that this pathocratic phenomenon, which has

spread to the most wide-ranging scale in human history, dem-

onstrates hostility to any and all religion does not imply the

conclusion that it is the opposite of religion. This dependence

would be structured differently under other historical and con-

temporary conditions. In the light of historical data, it appears

obvious that religious systems have also succumbed to ponero-

genic processes and manifested the symptoms of a similar dis-

ease.117

The specific basis for healing our sick world, which is also a

curative factor for restoring full reasoning capabilities to the

human personality, must therefore be the kind of science which

renders the essence of the phenomenon evident and describes it

in sufficiently objective language. Resistance to the acceptance

of such knowledge is often justified by religious motivation; it

is largely caused by the egotism of the natural world view in its

traditional overrating of its values and fear of disintegration,

and it must be constructively overcome.

~~~

The pathocratic phenomenon has appeared many times in

history, feeding parasitically upon various social movements,

deforming their structures and ideologies in a characteristic

fashion. It must therefore have met with various religious sys-

tems and with a variety of historical and cultural backgrounds.

Two basic possibilities for a relationship between this phe-

nomenon and a religious system can thus be adduced. The first

occurs when the religious association itself succumbs to infec-