Psychopathic Cultures and Toxic Empires

Will Black outlines up-to-date information about psychopathy and ties it in with insights about powerful psychopaths within influential spheres. He brilliantly integrates anthropological perspectives to applied mental health issues and makes a significant contribution to the subject of psychopathy by advancing the idea of 'psychopathic cultures', in which groups of all sizes can reflect characteristics of psychopaths. In doing so, Black creates a new level of awareness of the dangers psychopaths pose to vulnerable groups and societies at large. Examples of pathological cultures given range from those within families to paedophile rings, political organisations, media empires and finance. Black also illustrates inherent weaknesses in these pathological cultures and explains how critics of toxic organisations have more power than ever before to expose wrongdoing.

Susana De Leon, MD
Child, adolescent and adult psychiatrist

This book is brilliantly timed with so many exemplars of a psychopathic cultures coming to the fore in the courts. From the dressing rooms of celebrities to the news room of News of the World, we have constantly been reminded how secretive powerful institutions breed abuse by the powerful of the powerless. In a world which has lost absolutes of good and evil, Will Black shows how individuals can be swayed by social pathologies, and even good people can easily be led to do bad things.

Peter Jukes, author of The Fall of the House of Murdoch and pioneering 'hacking trial' live tweeter