Oh boy, do we have a unique character in Donald Trump. According to social psychologist Jonathan Haidt, he’s a narcissist who just wants attention and praise. While he may have some alpha male traits, he’s definitely not your typical power-hungry leader.

Haidt argues that the early acquisition of weaponry played a crucial role in the democratization of authority within groups of humans. Picture this: the balance of power between alpha males and the rest of the males not in power. Give them all spears, and suddenly everyone has a fighting chance. That’s essentially what happened with our hominid ancestors.

Thanks to the ability to communicate with language, it became easy to unite and shame, ostracize, or kill anyone whose behavior threatened or simply annoyed the rest of the group. Over time, the aversion to bullying males developed into what Haidt calls “the Liberty/oppression moral foundation,” which supports the moral matrix of revolutionaries and ‘freedom fighters’ everywhere.

Famed psychologist Steven Pinker warns that we’re always in danger of slipping back into the dynamic of dominance. Even in democracies, voters often crave a “strong leader,” and presidents and prime ministers often arrogate more power than they’re allowed. The system of laws constraining their power is often tested to the limit, and in countries without democracies, an “alpha coalition,” namely the coup-plotters, may be their only hope.

Rose McDermott, a professor of international relations, explains the process of self-domestication that happens as groups of beta and gamma males (the less strong ones) work together to unseat alphas who exploit the community. Trump, she argues, is a poster child for a “coercive alpha male.” But why don’t more Republicans challenge him? Because they’re all too narcissistic and can’t band together in the way that historically would have brought down a leader like Trump.

Democratic norms are one way the country has tried to constrain the negative effects of Trump. After all, Biden won the election fair and square. But they haven’t been as strong as we’d like them to be. This is partly, although not entirely, related to increasing polarization and the inability to form strong united coalitional bonds.

So why exactly is Trump such a bad leader? Let us count the ways. He’s a bully, he boasts of his predatory sexual activity, and he lacks empathy. But that’s not all – he’s also an unreliable and dishonest liar who repeatedly fails to pay his bills and defrauds his students. He distorts the truth so much that you can’t believe a single word that comes out of his mouth. He promised to drain the swamp only to fill it with his own self-dealing. Is it any wonder that many of us hope to see Trump deposed once and for all?

Serious News: nytimes