Anarchy via Paranoia Culture: Aam Aadmi Party becomes Bhasmasur demon

A psychological disorder called Paranoid Psychological Disorder is prevalent in some people.  This tendency to be perennially paranoid is boosted by the tendency to hold ones own self correct.  A Self Referential tendency.

In an individual this has been defined as:

Paranoid personality disorder (PPD) is a mental disorder characterized by paranoia and a pervasive, long-standing suspiciousness and generalized mistrust of others. Individuals with this personality disorder may be hypersensitive, easily feel slighted, and habitually relate to the world by vigilant scanning of the environment for clues or suggestions that may validate their fears or biases. Paranoid individuals are eager observers. They think they are in danger and look for signs and threats of that danger, potentially not appreciating other evidence.^[1]

In such a person, one sees the following characteristics.

It is characterized by at least three of the following:

• excessive sensitivity to setbacks and rebuffs;
• tendency to bear grudges persistently, i.e. refusal to forgive insults and injuries or slights;
• suspiciousness and a pervasive tendency to distort experience by misconstruing the neutral or friendly actions of others as hostile or contemptuous;
• a combative and tenacious sense of personal rights out of keeping with the actual situation;
• recurrent suspicions, without justification, regarding sexual fidelity of spouse or sexual partner;
• tendency to experience excessive self-importance, manifest in a persistent self-referential attitude;
• preoccupation with unsubstantiated “conspiratorial” explanations of events both immediate to the patient and in the world at large.

If this is taken to the masses, it creates a situation of fear, paranoid mistrust, and constant strife.  In short… Social Anarchy!  It is kind of like the “Wild West”, where everyone is everyone else’s enemy.  You are on your own and with just one tool, you can bring down anyone.

A civilized and sane society has proper systems, policies and rule of law.  Even though everyone can, but not everyone should be in policing, because it is a specialized vocation.  There are ways for forensics, for getting evidence, for tapping the formal and informal networks to get the right evidence and information.  Law enforcement agencies are trained to, and try to – though not always successful – to be independent and unbiased.  However, if this policing and law enforcement is given in the hands of individuals of the society at large, it has been seen that complaints are done on the basis of personal enmity, and not based on real corrupt practices.  In many counter-terrorism operations it has been observed that one person tipped off the security forces on his enemies just to get rid of them.  Its a known practice.  To know who is right and who is not is not easy and that is a full time task.  No Government should ever fall into the situation where it is simply trying to second guess as to who is honest and who is not.

When everyone in society is spying on the other, we have anarchy. AAP is in that state now. #AAPbreakup Click To Tweet

What we see in Aam Aadmi Party today is the play up of the same pattern.  The Yogendra Yadav/Prashant Bhushan camp is at loggerheads with the Arvind Kejriwal camp.  Whatever happens, happens under closed doors.  So it is one person’s word against the other’s!  So everyone is doing sting operations against the other.  As this video shows, Mr. Garg was very happy to have done a phone recording of Arvind Kejriwal’s phone where he wants to get the Congress MLAs.  One can be sure that there will be enough stings done on the other side as well.  When everyone is busy doing spying on others – as the journalist Dibang speaks out about – how does anyone really do any real work?  Is it even possible?

The whole atmosphere is full of mistrust and lack of transparency.  Like the Wild West.  How can anyone function in such a political climate?

Imagine if this had been done in the whole of Delhi?  Everyone would be stinging their friends, family and neighbors and getting them arrested or charge-sheeted!  Is that the society we need?

Interestingly, AAP has become like Bhasmasura.  A demon, or Asura, who got the powers to burn anyone to ashes immediately if he put his hand on the target’s head.  Ultimately the story goes, that he wanted to do this to Shiva himself!  Ultimately, Vishnu comes to rescue and induces him to put his hand on his own head

Even if it is imperfect, it is always better to have a society based on rules, policies and proper robust institutions as opposed to mob rule.