Friday, July 25, 2008

It seems that narcissism- once considered a personality trait that one either had or didn't have- has become a cultural ideal in individualistic cultures. In this way, narcissism has become a plastic mindset that one may adopt and exercise as need be as an adaptive trait. Will narcissism become a selection for success in our society- and for a successful society- though? My bet is no: while for a time it may seem advantageous to become highly ego-centric with a zero-sum mentality, it eventually will catch up to us- we can't simply all be narcissists. Imagine a room where everyone was a narcissist...

Plus, the social hierarchy would collapse (which is a distinct characteristic of society, for better or for worse).

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