On Narcissism or: How I learned to stop narking and love other narcissists

Echo and Narcissus by John William Waterhouse, 1903.
Public Domain via Wikimedia.

Rethinking Narcissism: The Secret to Recognizing and Coping with Narcissists by Craig Malkin

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

I discovered Craig Malkin’s work in Psychology Today. On subscribing to the magazine, I couldn’t help but think political science might have done the same thing. Psychology Today is a model for other disciplines of how to get their research out into the broader community in an easily digestible way. That’s not to say that I enjoy reading research results that are all presented as lists, i.e., “if you have these five characteristics you are an arsehole” – this becomes rather dull at times – but it does enable me to apply tools and learn about concepts in psychology that I would otherwise not have the training to comprehend appropriately.

Rethinking Narcissism is useful for self-analysis and for coping with others. The Narcissism Test was useful. I recall the first time I encountered the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) test in 1992, during a semester of “Character-Building”, a third-class module at the Royal Military College, Duntroon. I scored an extreme ENTJ (extraversion-intuition-thinking-judgment) – “The Commander”. I undertook the test again in 2001 and found I was slightly less extreme, less again in 2007, and since 2014 I occasionally score as an INTJ (introversion), but the NTJ types are still quite strong. Over time I have learnt to relax, to hold my tongue (when I am not ramming it down my throat), and to be patient, less aggressive, and less competitive. So, when I scored 7 on the narcissism spectrum (this is not too good – a five is ideal), I was not surprised but it made sense that from my teens until my forties I was easily in the extremely unhealthy narcissist range.

Malkin’s idea of narcissism as a spectrum was quite useful. When I left the military, I recall saying to my former CO, then a colonel, that I was sick of everything being so ego-driven (so said the young man who had been top of his cohort since Duntroon until leaving the Regular Army, a complete “thruster” if ever there was one and all at the expense of everyone around him). But the good colonel said to me that there was a bit of ego in everything, and it could be good. But off I went to join The Salvation Army, thinking it was circumstantial rather than me that was the issue (as you do). There have been several others who have recognised my philosophical struggles over the years and their insights were enlightening. Likewise, Malkin speaks to me in a way that makes it OK to be a narcissist sometimes, but to find a healthy balance in doing so.

On reading Malkin’s work, I can see I have much work to do. But now I also have a few tools to deal with the narcissists who surround me. Reading this work was similar to reading BIFF. One feels awkward reading about a scale of something rather than the binary “you suck – you’re awesome!” nonsense that drives most things in contemporary society. But Malkin echoes the words of the good colonel and for that alone it was worth the read. As for Goodreads’ rating system, I find it difficult to give such books a high score. Were they useful? Yes. Will I use the concepts? Yes. Does this strike me like Thomas Mann’s Death in Venice or Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast? Not really. So while my rating of this and other books is low, it is only in the company of the great literature I am reading. A separate ratings category for classics versus self-help books might be useful; regrettably, until such time I must rate books in the company they keep. But don’t let that stop you from reading this favourite from Oprah’s Book Club!

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Trivial nonsense, or: Work will dominate your mind if you let it...

Frankie at Pawtails Rural Retreat (and Frida in the background)
When she chewed my Nokia recharge cable, I bought a smartphone. But I survived.

Deep Work: Rules for Focused Success in a Distracted World by Cal Newport

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I had heard so much about this book from Ryan Holiday, Art of Manliness, and also the NPR podcast The Hidden Brain I just had to read it. Newport is Associate Professor of Computer Science at Georgetown University and he has given me a ton of confidence about my earlier approaches to my work, and several new ideas to try. I went on a hiatus from mobile phones from 2009 to 2015. Only when we moved an hour out of Canberra was I given an ultimatum by my wife that if I insisted we live in the country, I had to have a mobile phone. For a while I resurrected the old Nokia I bought in Amman, Jordan in 2009 while on sabbatical there. But when my (then) puppy Frankie chewed the recharging cable, it didn't make much sense to make such a statement so I updated. I had learnt the value if being unplugged. Over time, I have ebbed and flowed with social media to the point where now I seem to have a handle on it. I can recognise when I am going down the rabbit hole and self-rescue. But I don't think this is enough. Newport's work is interesting in that he is an academic, so his stories are instantly recognisable. The tips are clear and the advice is sound. And it obviously worked. Fortunately, I already have tenure, but I have to build a citadel around my deep work, or the shallow work will destroy me. A recent stint of long service leave gave me the break I desperately needed, and I have been productive. But I need to upset a few more people by avoiding the trivial nonsense that saps my time. I have always done this, but only jokingly outlined my theories. Newport gives me a new sense of resolution, so watch this space. If you are struggling to cut out endless, nonsensical, shallow work, read this book.

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On Bipartisanship, Reform Fall Guys, the Asian Century, and Infrastructure with Michelle Grattan

Protest against industrial relations reforms in Sydney , 15 November 2005.
Photo by Jasabella via Wikimedia CC BY-SA 2.5

At the recent Democracy100 forum at Old Parliament House hosted by the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis, Bob Hawke and John Howard spoke about the present lack of appetite for reform. Populism appears to be making it more difficult to pursue a reform agenda.

Bipartisanship was a big part of enabling previous reforms. But since the 2007 election, the decline in the stability of political leadership has impacted upon bipartisan support for important policy initiatives, and attempts to address the rise in populism are leading to a feeling in the electorate that politicians are reluctant to act in the public good. Tough reform is difficult in this environment.

Peter Hartcher's reporting of the event captured some interesting thoughts: Bob Hawke and John Howard handled some of the largest reform agendas in Commonwealth history, market and tax reform respectively, yet the were re-elected to become two of our three longest serving prime ministers. It would seem that electors will reward the hard work of reform.

I wrote about this issue recently in The Conversation, but many questions remained unanswered. I often think about Fightback! and how politics may mess up good policy, but eventually policy prevails. My paper at the forthcoming Australian Political Studies Association conference will cover some of these issues.

But then I got to thinking about the idea of a policy "fall guy". When Dr John Hewson introduced Fightback!, he was soundly defeated by the infamous GST birthday cake incident. Yet most of Fightback! has since been implemented (albeit imprecisely). Did Hewson clear the way for Howard?

And then what about Hawke? Was Gough Whitlam his fall guy? And this got me to thinking about the challenges facing democracy and how bipartisanship must be the answer. Yet bipartisanship remains illusive.

So, in an effort to investigate some of these issues to encourage discussion with my students, I put some of these questions to Michelle Grattan AO, Professorial Fellow of the University of Canberra and Chief Political Correspondent at The Conversation. 

The recording was made at Parliament House, and you can hear the divisional bells for the Senate sounding in the background. My thanks to Michelle for providing this content for my teaching.

You can visit the podcast here or below: