Psychopathology and Politics

2016 Reprint of 1930 Edition. Full facsimile of the original edition, not reproduced with Optical Recognition Software. First published in 1930, this classic study of personality types remains vital for the understanding of contemporary public figures. Lasswell’s pioneering application of the concepts of clinical psychology to the understanding of powerbrokers in politics, business, and even the church offers insights into the careers of leaders as diverse as Adolf Hitler and, arguably to more recent figures such as Richard Nixon, Donald Trump and the Clintons.

Contents: Life histories and political science – The psychopathological approach – A new technique of thinking – The criteria of political types – Theories of personality development – Political agitators – Political agitators-continued – Political administrators – Political convictions – The politics of prevention – The prolonged interview and its objectification – The personality system and its substitutive reactions – The state as a manifold of events.