This is where your problem - conspiracy mindedness - begins.
"It is painfully obvious that the pyramidical societal and legal structures that humanity has allowed to develop are exactly the kind of dominance hierarchies that undoubtedly favour the sociopath. A humane being operating with a normal and healthy cooperative mindset has little inclination to take part in the combat necessary to climb a corporate or political ladder. So what do conspiracy deniers imagine the 70 million or more sociopaths in the world do all day, born into a 'game', in which all the wealth and power are at the top of the pyramid, while the most effective attributes for 'winning' are ruthlessness and amorality? Have they never played Monopoly? "
As we discussed in the mask thread, sociopaths/psychopaths are not running any big shows because, by their nature, they can't. They can't maintain in a group, even a cabal, because they are antisocial to the marrow. They must break the rules. They must harm those around them. Their inflated ego demands they not "play the game" like the "suckers". Psychopaths are not leaders. They are destroyers. If everyone at the top of the pyramids was a psychopath, humanity would have died out Millennia ago.
Now I really get it. A bunch of losers think that the pyramid is based on dominance hierarchies arising from ever more refined levels of evil. I note more than a touch of Marxism in the quote as well. Marxism being one of the pseudointellectual's fall back ideologies when he feels that he deserves more recognition and material success in life than he has obtained.
The quote is not reality. The hierarchies are generally based on competence. Humans are not all born equal. The guys at the top are smart and driven, focused and highly organized. They work at what they do 24 hours a day, every day, and they work efficiently and intelligently. Also they think big. You're not there not because you are more righteous or a essentially a better person, but because you don't have the innate talent and psychological make-up to be there.
That is even true in physical activities, like professional athletics. Not everyone has the basic mental and physical talent to be a pro. Not everyone who has the basic talent puts in the time and dedication to realize his talents. A pro athlete super star is the apex of that sport's pyramid. Tiger Woods and Michel Jordan are psychopaths? Same with rock stars versus the millions of guitar players. Out of a couple million military members there just of handful of tier one operators (SEALs, Green Berets, MARSCOC). Same with anything. Do you call those people, as a class, psychopaths because they are at the top of a pyramid?
Well, it's no different in business, whether it be entrepreneurial ventures or corporate. Same with politics. Same with intellectual endeavors.
The second significant foundational error is this:
"History catalogues the machinations of liars, thieves, bullies and narcissists and their devastating effects. In modern times too, evidence of corruption and extraordinary deceptions abound. We know, without question, that politicians lie and hide their connections and that corporations routinely display utter contempt for moral norms - that corruption surrounds us."
Yeah? Guess what? Get to know life in a blue collar neighborhood. It's the same thing; people lying, cheating, screwing each other, having connections to criminals and on and on. Paying selective attention to these sins only when people at the top of hierarchies are involved shows that the conspiracy theorist has an axe to grind.
Politicians have connection to big business? No shit Captain Obvious. Who are they supposed to have connections to? The janitor at the 7-11? Let's see, big business employs people, might be involved in the security of the nation, is run by smart competent people that might have some useful ideas to share - and, yes, have money. The janitor?
So this conspiracy theory crap is just all sour grapes from people that think they are smarter than everyone else, but really aren't. So they call the people above them "psychopaths".
Very enlightening. I think I can leave Skeptiko now that I finally see what this conspiracy theory nonsense is all about.
Too bad, Skeptiko was a good forum when it was about NDEs, psi, etc.