Anyone who has much to do with Leftists, must have noticed that they seem to all be mentally unsound. That common observation is in fact backed by psychological research, as difficult as it must be to get it published given the stranglehold the Left now has on academia and its journals. But, a recent paper in the peer-reviewed journal Current Psychology (abstract below) has uncovered that Leftism is linked to psychopathic tendencies and narcissism. That is extremely plausible, since authoritarian personalities, typically found in the Left, are narcissistic, which is needed to put their agendas into action. According to authors Ann Krispenz and Alex Bertrams, this Leftist narcissism, which they call the “dark-ego-vehicle principle,” is the real motivating force of Leftism: “According to this principle, individuals with dark personalities — such as high narcissistic and psychopathic traits — are attracted to certain forms of political and social activism which they can use as a vehicle to satisfy their own ego-focused needs instead of actually aiming at social justice and equality.” All the ranting about social justice and the like is just that, ranting. It is not serious, but is simply something of convenience to “provide them with opportunities for positive self-presentation and displays of moral superiority, to gain social status, to dominate others, and to engage in social conflicts and aggression to satisfy their need for thrill seeking.”
In short, Leftism is all about the will to power, today in the West, done by psychological manipulation, while in the past, it was done as old Mao said, down the barrel of a gun.