Thank you Archna for a very serious topic.
Historian and social critic Christopher Lasch (1932—1994) described this topic in his book, "The Culture of Narcissism", published in 1979.
He defines a narcissistic culture as one in which every activity and relationship is defined by the hedonistic need to acquire the symbols of material wealth, this becoming the only expression of rigid, yet covert, social hierarchies. It is a culture where liberalism only exists insofar as it serves a consumer society, and even art, sex and religion lose their liberating power.
In such a society of constant competition there can be no allies, and little transparency. The threats to acquisitions of social symbols are so numerous, varied and frequently incomprehensible, that defensiveness, as well as competitiveness, becomes a way of life. Any real sense of community is undermined -- or even destroyed -- to be replaced by virtual equivalents that strive, unsuccessfully, to synthesise a sense of community.
Contrary to Lasch, Bernard Stiegler argues in his book, Aimer, s’aimer, nous aimer: (2003), that consumer capitalism is in fact destructive of what he calls primordial narcissism, without which it is not possible to extend love to others.
From a Psychological perspective narcissism can be explained as follows;
has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
I believe we in HR should take this platform more to focus more on Values and the need to loosen up our ego boundaries together with the preoccupation of self to the exclusion of all others which is a real malady we see all over. Many companies that collapsed , such as Enron, went down because of these tendencies which destroys the very fabric of our socirty.
To the extent we in HR dabble in routine matters but do not focus on the holistic model of human development, we leave room for such " me" " m ine " attitudes to continue unabated and become a canker that takes us on a very dangerous path.
In such a context where is room for putting into effect EQ and SQ dimensions ?
Cheers
Prof.Lakshman
Historian and social critic Christopher Lasch (1932—1994) described this topic in his book, "The Culture of Narcissism", published in 1979.
He defines a narcissistic culture as one in which every activity and relationship is defined by the hedonistic need to acquire the symbols of material wealth, this becoming the only expression of rigid, yet covert, social hierarchies. It is a culture where liberalism only exists insofar as it serves a consumer society, and even art, sex and religion lose their liberating power.
In such a society of constant competition there can be no allies, and little transparency. The threats to acquisitions of social symbols are so numerous, varied and frequently incomprehensible, that defensiveness, as well as competitiveness, becomes a way of life. Any real sense of community is undermined -- or even destroyed -- to be replaced by virtual equivalents that strive, unsuccessfully, to synthesise a sense of community.
Contrary to Lasch, Bernard Stiegler argues in his book, Aimer, s’aimer, nous aimer: (2003), that consumer capitalism is in fact destructive of what he calls primordial narcissism, without which it is not possible to extend love to others.
From a Psychological perspective narcissism can be explained as follows;
has a grandiose sense of self-importance (e.g., exaggerates achievements and talents, expects to be recognized as superior without commensurate achievements)
is preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success, power, brilliance, beauty, or ideal love
has a sense of entitlement, i.e., unreasonable expectations of especially favorable treatment or automatic compliance with his or her expectations
is interpersonally exploitative, i.e., takes advantage of others to achieve his or her own ends
lacks empathy: is unwilling to recognize or identify with the feelings and needs of others
is often envious of others or believes that others are envious of him or her
shows arrogant, haughty behaviors or attitudes
I believe we in HR should take this platform more to focus more on Values and the need to loosen up our ego boundaries together with the preoccupation of self to the exclusion of all others which is a real malady we see all over. Many companies that collapsed , such as Enron, went down because of these tendencies which destroys the very fabric of our socirty.
To the extent we in HR dabble in routine matters but do not focus on the holistic model of human development, we leave room for such " me" " m ine " attitudes to continue unabated and become a canker that takes us on a very dangerous path.
In such a context where is room for putting into effect EQ and SQ dimensions ?
Cheers
Prof.Lakshman