Narcissism Breeds Feudal Politics

When a society relies on primitive defense mechanisms like splitting and grandiose narcissism to process complexity, political loyalties calcify into binary, personalistic bonds that empower local strongmen and patrimonial networks rather than impersonal institutions. That dynamic produces apathy toward public problems and a willingness to trade republican governance for hierarchical, clientelist arrangements. — If true, this links cultural‑psychological trends to long‑run institutional decay and helps explain why polarization can evolve into concentrated, feudal‑style power rather than stable party competition.