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Issue 1<br />
May 2017<br />
Rise in Narcissism and<br />
Trump<br />
Text by Michail Theodosiadis Illustration by Dea Khalvashi<br />
publicity. Donald Trump<br />
is one of the saddest reflections<br />
of this corrosive<br />
culture.<br />
6<br />
Christopher Lasch and<br />
Narcissism<br />
Almost three decades ago,<br />
in his book The Culture<br />
of Narcissism, the iconoclastic<br />
American thinker<br />
Christopher Lasch wrote<br />
that in postwar America<br />
emerged a certain type<br />
of being, which in clinical<br />
terms falls under the<br />
category of “narcissistic<br />
personality disorder”, a<br />
pathology characterised<br />
by carelessness and an<br />
excessive need for admiration<br />
and attention.<br />
Lasch identified manifestations<br />
of this disorder in<br />
various aspects of social<br />
life, and especially in the<br />
world of celebrity. Now<br />
celebrities have invaded<br />
the political sphere, the<br />
entire political world is<br />
becoming dominated by<br />
people who lack “common<br />
decency”, who resort to<br />
a faux populism in order<br />
to serve their thirst for<br />
From the day he joined<br />
the race for the Republican<br />
nomination, Trump<br />
used the same modus<br />
operandi: attracting<br />
public attention. Just as<br />
Lasch wrote, the narcissistic<br />
logic Trump applies<br />
to politics is embedded<br />
in the same “enterprise<br />
culture” with which he is<br />
so closely identified. As a<br />
successful entrepreneur,<br />
Trump not only acquired<br />
the skill of promoting his<br />
brand but turned himself<br />
into a commodity, using<br />
all available techniques<br />
to put himself at the
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