Comments on: David Miliband: Regrets, he’s had a few. But then again…

By: jameshigham

jameshigham — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 12:56:08 +0000

Are sociopaths over-represented amongst our elected representatives, do you think?

Sociopaths and sick people. look at all the leaders who have had physical illnesses in office.

By: D-Notice

D-Notice — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:06:24 +0000

If they did regret it they wouldn’t have gone to the House of Lords to get it overturned. “Actions speak louder than words”.

By: Curly’s Corner Shop

Curly’s Corner Shop — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:59:54 +0000

[...] the pick of the bunch must be Justin’s post at Chicken Yofhurt; I suppose it all depends what you mean by ‘regret’. I imagine the way the Foreign Secretary [...]

By: Regret? « Curly’s Corner Shop, the blog!

Regret? « Curly’s Corner Shop, the blog! — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:23:04 +0000

[...] the pick of the bunch must be Justin’s post at Chicken Yofhurt; I suppose it all depends what you mean by ‘regret’. I imagine the way the Foreign Secretary [...]

By: chris y

chris y — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:24:52 +0000

Taking your initial question at face value, yes I do think so, and for very good reasons. The skills demanded for success in contemporary British politics, superficial charm, manipulation, egocentricity, willingness to abandon principle, etc. map very well onto most definitions of sociopathic behaviour, and the rewards of political success, fawning attention, immunity from repercussions for all but the most extreme misconduct, and substantial remuneration would be very attractive to a sociopathic personality.

In the past, there were various factors whih insured against sociopathic dominance: parties had more or less consistent principles and programmes; politicians were expected to have shown evidence of ability in some other sphere; journalists held them to account. None of these any longer apply.

I would guess that any politician emerging with ministerial rank these days is more likely to be at least somewhat sociopathic than not.

By: john b

john b — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:16:51 +0000

Not all ‘regrets’ are moral – doubtless Peter Sutcliffe regrets getting caught.

Similarly, I imagine Miliband regrets the fact that a previous government’s actions created an awkward situation for him, in which he has a choice between doing something obviously outrageous, or pissing off the Americans…