Narcissism and Plato's Reluctant Politician
Plato’s idea of the reluctant politician transcends history.
From Plato’s Republic [347b-d]:
“…that is why the good are not willing to rule either for the sake of money or of honor. They do not wish to collect pay openly for their service of rule and be styled hirelings nor to take it by stealth from their office and be called thieves, nor yet for the sake of honor, for they are not covetous of honor.
So there must be imposed some compulsion and penalty to constrain them to rule if they are to consent to hold office. That is perhaps why to seek office oneself and not await compulsion is thought disgraceful. But the chief penalty is to be governed by someone worse if a man will not himself hold office and rule.
It is from fear of this, as it appears to me, that the better sort hold office when they do, and then they go to it not in the expectation of enjoyment nor as to a good thing, but as to a necessary evil and because they are unable to turn it over to better men than themselves [347d] or to their like.”
The idea is that the best politicians are reluctant ones, who don’t serve their community for the honour, glory or fun of it. They don’t want limelight or power. They serve because they know if they weren’t to do it, they could end up being ruled by a buffoon. (Not Plato’s words, but I think it’s pretty accurate).
Throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, Aussies have increased their trust in the federal government substantially. One report found that “for the first time in over a decade, Australians are exhibiting relatively high levels of political trust in federal government (from 29 to 54%) and the Australian Public Service (from 38% to 54%).[1]” Pre-coronavirus, however, we’d recorded far lower levels of trust in people in government and the federal government. Considering our revolving door of leadership in recent years, that doesn’t seem overly shocking.
But Australia – the lucky country – with our stable democracy and governance has far from the worst government in the world. And yet, the stereotype has endured since the time of Plato that politicians are rarely the most trustworthy people in a room. Why is that?
There would be a multitude of complex reasons and counter-arguments on this, but I’m going to focus on one facet: Narcissism's potential relationship with politics.
Narcissism, according to recent research, may be genuinely connected to modern politics. A 2013 research paper analysed US presidents and found that “presidents exhibit elevated levels of grandiose narcissism compared with the general population, and that presidents’ grandiose narcissism has been rising over time.” They suggest this narcissism comes with good and bad behavioural implications from a leadership perspective.
And it’s not only those in politics that appear to have a stronger relationship with narcissism. One study from 2020[2] found “those scoring higher in narcissism… participate more in politics, including contacting politicians, signing petitions, joining demonstrations, donating money and voting in mid-term elections.”
Another, also from this year, concluded: “Psychopathy and narcissism are positively associated with political interest, but narcissism is also negatively associated with political knowledge.”
In other words, narcissists in the general population are more likely to be active in politics and concurrently less likely to have a lot of political knowledge. But they don’t let ignorance get in the way of their participation. (That’s dedication to the cause… I guess?)
There are interesting ideas about why this may be. The researchers suggest the involvement is “potentially driven by a feeling of importance or qualification for engagement with politics.” They also cite the argument that because narcissism is itself overrepresented in politicians, narcissists in the general population may be more likely to resonate with those pollies, and therefore give them more outward support.
It’s a cycle of narcissism.
So, if we go back to Plato’s politicians, the idea that the best politicians don’t actually gravitate towards politics and governance is a profound one. If we account for the general negative perception of the political environment (I don’t need stats for that one), as well as the seeming overrepresentation of narcissism, it makes sense that a lot of good potential politicians might veer away from politics.
Ironically, it’s precisely these people – according to Plato – who should be stepping up to lead.
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[1]https://www.democracy2025.gov.au/documents/Is%20Australia%20still%20the%20lucky%20country.pdf
Also, keep in mind these stats would surely be constantly subject to change this year.
[2] It’s worth noting that these studies are usually based on one or two countries, so there may be limitations.