[dfraser992]

Got my upvote there... I had to deal with a actual psychopath who'd fooled the other people in this little charity sort of org for years. I got pulled in because a friend asked me to work on their website and I was supportive of the goals of the organization.

The guy was an obvious ass&*$% but had wormed his way into defining himself as the 'head' of the org and people went on with it because A) the dominant behaviors B) he'd turned himself into the public face of the org C) and I quote "yeah, but he's productive, he motivates other people, he gets things done"... But that was just the Stockholm syndrome talking - people like this are little more than parasites. I was the new guy so could see through the mask a lot quicker. I wish I'd asked questions about the backstory...

I concur with everything you say about social hierarchies and power. I'm American and my take on the English, based on my living here for over a decade and all the sociopathically inclined I've run into, is that there is a very good reason there seems to be so many adult bullies etc in the UK (versus my take on America). The rigid class structure and etc conceals a lot of fundamental psychological pathologies in English society - sure, they're present in every society, but the English seem to revel in them and even regard them as virtues.