Psychological conditions as political analogies

[synthesis]

We see it all the time: people ascribing psychological terms to governments, political tendencies and organizations.

Some are considered completely acceptable: no one will flinch if you call a military dictatorship "psychopathic" or present a right-wing movement as "sociopathic."

Some are considered unacceptable. Even if you call Tea Partiers "developmentally disabled" instead of "retarded," you're still going to raise a few eyebrows at the very least.

My question is: why? When someone called the Iraqi government "retarded," and tried to justify it on the basis that he meant "developmentally disabled" and that people frequently use "psychopathic" as a political term, Khad rightfully called him out on it.

The reason given was that "developmental conditions" are different from "personality disorders." Fair point. But what is the distinction, really?

If I called anarcho-capitalism "autistic economics," again, it would raise some eyebrows, at the very least. Yet I doubt I would get anywhere near the same reaction if I called the North Korean government "bipolar."

Why? It's not a bipolar person's fault that they're bipolar. They have a chemical imbalance. Why is "autistic" considered offensive as a pejorative, while "bipolar" is not?

I'm genuinely curious. What do you all think?

[Fulanito de Tal]

The reason given was that "developmental conditions" are different from "personality disorders." Fair point. But what is the distinction, really?

In psychology, personality disorders are pervasive through most of the lifespan. Developmental disorders depends on what development stage and development aspect t that person was in.

A person that has attachment issues due to improper development with care giver at an early age may have difficulty establishing secure relationships as an adult. This does not encompass their whole personality. The person may function well in other areas such as career, school, athletics, art, finances, etc.

A person with Borderline Personality disorder has unstable relationships, but also has other personality traits that meet criteria such as avoidance of abandonment, impulsiveness, inappropriate intense anger, identity issues, and more.


So, regarding your country psychopathology, these are my diagnoses.

The U$ has a personality disorder called Capitalist Imperialism. This is seen throughout many aspects of its foreign policy such as accumulating wealth, globalization, constant military conflict, interventions in foreign countries' internal politics, etc.

Cuba has a development disorder called Delayed Economical Development as evidenced by small economical progress in the economy. However, other aspects of Cuba seem to be working well despite its economical retardation. For example, health care and social work in Cuba is outstanding.

xoxo

[synthesis]

I meant more in terms of which comparisons we find offensive and which ones we don't.

[Quail]

I'm not sure why people find some things more offensive than others. I don't really use words like "psycho" myself, but I think maybe it's something to do with the way the words are used relating to high-brow murder cases or whatever. A psychopath or a sociopath is unlikely to be someone the average person could feel any empathy for, even though a condition like that is likely to have developed from a dysfunctional childhood. I don't know really. People say all kinds of offensive things about psychological conditions.

[Fullmetal Anarchist]

As a sufferer of a mental health condition (bi-polar). I often find that people say or behave slightly differently to me once I reveal that I have a mental health condition. I personally think it's down to a lack of education on the part of most people.

[The Censored Woman]

I'm more interested in taking it a step further, as suggested in Deleuze and Guattari's Anti-Oedipus, and saying those who passively embrace State organizational models are the ones who are truly ill, while the so-called "mentally disabled" or "criminally insane" are the ones among us with the most rational response to the State with its violence, omnipresence, exploitation, and isolation.