Pathology of self-actualization

"Shame, once gone, never comes back"

When and how things went wrong is hard to say. The SFRY, even though many criticize it today, at least had a system in the sphere of education that offered young people the opportunity to acquire an enviable education and affirmation through their primary profession.

It was precisely thanks to such a system that we had top scientists, professors, teachers, engineers, doctors, economists, lawyers, pilots, bakers, ceramists, etc. True, you couldn't be the CEO of a large company or sit in a fighter jet without a party membership card, but you could be everything else.

And then some ambitious politicians in our fraternal republics decided to put an end to such "hell." We won a bloody war from which we are still recovering today, but also something even worse.

The collapse of the SFRY led to a collapse and a departure from the value system on which generations of Yugoslavs had grown up. Such a vacuum enabled the strengthening of nationalism and ethnic identity, which had a particularly negative impact on the education system. It was then that the education system was subjected to the so-called "crisis management" where priorities were short-term and pragmatic, rather than long-term and strategic. The transition to a market economy and commercialization, as well as political interference, further contributed to the collapse of the education system, and ultimately all fundamental human values.

And precisely because of typical educational "subversion" for us, "ignorance and self-confidence have become key prerequisites for success."

Karl Mannheim said that those who are unable to secure their existence in the primary life cycle compensate for this by engaging in politics.

How else to explain such a large "inflow" of young people into politics, taking on responsibility in various spheres of society, without having, literally, a single day of work experience or any significant results in their primary profession in their biographies.

As a rule, such "experts" point us to the main road, without having found even a goat path for themselves in life. Here we come to the prototype of a young Montenegrin politician, who climbs to the top of the social ladder with a dubious diploma and unknown past work. Without a clear vision and questionable education, and in a pathological desire to prove and show themselves, they undertake actions that often lead to certain ruin.

Unfortunately, this phenomenon is not only a Montenegrin specificity, but unlike others, we have raised it to a higher level - the so-called "pathology of self-actualization". It is a phenomenon in which young people, and some in their later years, become so preoccupied with their ambition, their ego and their desire for power, that they forget about real values, goals and even their needs.

According to the theory of Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist, human needs can be divided into five levels: physiological, safety, social, esteem and self-actualization. However, for a significant number of young people, and especially politicians, this hierarchy is completely disrupted. They literally skip all the levels and take a shortcut to self-actualization, hoping that it will provide them with food, drink, friends (and for a not small number, partners), security and respect overnight.

Knowing that all these needs are only provided for while they are in a position of power, they are ready to do anything just to stay in power. Corruption, clientelism and privileges become means to an end, rather than obstacles to be overcome.

Instead of a conclusion:

The phenomenon of "unfounded self-actualization" as an isolated case would certainly not deserve any special attention. But the problem is that in our Montenegrin environment it has taken on epidemic proportions, and the consequences are more than obvious.

Such "geniuses" manage various processes in society and the organizations they lead. They very often use populist methods to gain support, instead of focusing on the real problems of society.

And finally, as the number of such individuals multiplies geometrically, despite the efforts of some state institutions to prevent this, by ignoring, minimizing, and belittling the importance of basic education and expertise, they are pushing the entire society into decline.