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‘NORMOPATHY’

If a community hinders the formation of my I and undermines the formation of my free will, there is a tendency then for me to blindly conform to the group norms and not be able to critically question them. In such communities, it can easily come about that everyone approves of something that is in fact wrong and harmful for each and every individual. Hans Joachim Maaz coined the term ‘normopathy’ for this: What is going on in the way a society runs may be sick to the core, but no one notices.21

COMPETITION AND RACISM

In normopathic groups, the opinion prevails that ‘we’ are better people than ‘the others. These ‘others’ may be those who belong to a different family, city, nation, etc. Within such apparent units, there is no true consensus, and these groups are subject to constant competition, power struggles and divisions. If

21 Maaz, H. J. (2018). Das falsche Leben. Ursachen und Folgen unserer normapathischen Gesellschaft. München: C.H. Beck Verlag. ‘The Fake Life - Causes and Consequences of our Normapathic Society’ is not available in English.