Study: Left-wing Extremism Linked to Mental Illness

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Study: Left-wing Extremism Linked to Mental Illness
Over the weekend I read in the Daily Mail that a crazed man with a knife tried to break into Benedict Cumberbatch’s London home and attack him and his family. The attacker was caught because his DNA was on the intercom system outside their home and it was already in the police’s database. Why? Because he was arrested in his underpants at a protest in 2015. The Daily Mail noted, “He has a previous conviction for theft, three warnings for offences against property, a public order offence and a drug offence.”

So, of course the news of a recent study linking mental illness and left-wing extremism caught my eye. The study published in Current Psychology suggests that left-wing extremism is associated with toxic, psychopathic tendencies and narcissism. The study found a link between higher levels of left-wing authoritarianism and higher levels of narcissism. The authors coined the term “dark-ego-vehicle principle” to describe the phenomenon where individuals with dark personality traits are attracted to political and social activism as a means to satisfy their ego-focused needs rather than working towards social justice and equality. The study also noted that some activists use social justice as a guise for unhinged behavior and prioritize self-presentation, moral superiority, and social status over genuine social causes.

More from the New York Post:

Beyond using any means necessary, people of privileged backgrounds who are aligned with LWA [left-wing authoritarianism] often use their narcissism to make activism solely about themselves instead of achieving social equality for struggling groups.

“Minority groups should be made aware of the narcissistic ‘enemies’ from within their activist movement, as these individuals could hijack the cause thereby reducing the success of the activism in many ways,” the authors added.

“As grandiose narcissists typically desire fame, distinction, elevated social status and high social importance, they can be assumed to strive for influential positions that involve social visibility and outreach as well as access to financial and other resources.”