Narcissistic Culture: Genesis, Consequences and Challenges

Abstract

Narcissistic culture represents a special social configuration that creates conditions for the birth of individuals whose character traits resemble narcissistic personalities. In an age of major socio-political crises, globalization, secularization, and serious ecological threats and risks, and due to inadequate political intervention, individuals have difficulty finding the means to cope with them, and they reactively withdraw into themselves in order to find a stronghold of security within themselves. By redirecting the
gaze from problematic social movements to themselves – their own bodies – the perception of social crisis is blurred by creating the illusion that a “settled” self means a settled world. However, this only perpetuates all those forces that led to this unbridled egocentrism. Modern capitalist society in a fluid post-Fordist economy imposes a competitive modus vivendi, and by individualizing social, collective responsibility, a state of ontological insecurity and psychological tension. In this atmosphere, it is expected that the individual will seek refuge in what he has the most control over – his own self, his body. The consequences of narcissistic withdrawal call into question the strength of social solidarity and empathy. Political apathy, which is a logical consequence of a narcissistic culture, enables the conditions for the construction of a totalitarian government that promotes indifferent citizens, due to their own preoccupation with themselves. That is why the basic challenge of narcissistic culture is how to divert egocentric thoughts and utilize them in the social domain. Also, the erosion of the community
further exacerbates the atomization and alienation of people. Without an adequate foundation of community and a representation of collectivity, it is difficult to expect a meaningful progression of society. That is why narcissistic culture is an extremely relevant and urgent issue today. The paper tries to synthesize the insights of the key authors who have considered this problem.