His
narcissistic defences are fuelled by unrequited humiliation
(Millon's "compensatory narcissism"). The humiliation is the outcome
of a grandiosity gap between reality and grandiose fantasies,
between actual inferiority and a delusional sense of superiority
(and cosmic mission), between his sense of entitlement and his
incommensurate achievements, skills, and accomplishments.
When narcissists are faced with the disintegration of their
narcissistic "infrastructure" (their False Self) - they
decompensate. I have outlined the possible
psychodynamic reactions here:
http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/npd/87772
Narcissism is always concomitant with the "civilizing"
components of colonialism ("White Man's Burden") -
though not with the mercantilist elements.
"Pathological narcissism is a well defined (and phenomenological)
mental health theoretical construct. No doubt, narcissists engage
in anti-Other discourse and other virulent and pernicious
narratives. But the existence of such a discourse is not a
DETERMINANT of pathological narcissism - merely its manifestation.
What GIVES RISE to the grandiosity gap IS socio- economic reality.
The gap is between the REAL and the IDEAL, between the ACTUAL and
the (self- DELUSIONAL and FANTASIZED.
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