The power of the empire system running our lives is extreme. It is a financial dictatorship. Just like living in a dictatorial family psychologically affects children, so does a dictatorial empire affect its people. While the tyranny is hidden and quite different from the obviously vicious dictatorships of the past, it is actually even more powerful in some ways. As discussed on the spirituality page, the system removes meaning and a sense of belonging from our lives, and the psychological impact of that is profound. It has also destroyed a sense of relationship and community, not to mention actual small town communities, as the tyranny of the monetary system has driven the supremacy of utilitarianism and atomism. Again, the psychological impact on humanity is immeasurable. The system also enshrines narcissism given its nature of hierarchical power and control (lesson 4.4). This systematically works against psychological health. Narcissism hurts everyone, whether it's the narcissists on top, the obviously oppressed people on bottom, or everyone else stuck in the middle. Some additional, specific aspects of the monetary system affect our psychology in ways that psychologists should study more and advocate against:
The psychology that fuels the top of the empire
Why do so many people gladly wake up everyday and race to work (especially big banking, big corporate, big government, and military empire jobs) to serve such a damaging system? Well most people have no choice. They are hostage to the system in order to have money to feed their families. But the people pursuing the top rungs of the system are different. As discussed in Renaissance 2.0, the system is based on power. It is about acquiring wealth or status in order to have security and power. So it is very attractive to people who feel compelled to fill a hole, to hide their own inner lack of security and power. This is the psychology of the overachiever. Having power over others, or being admired by others, makes such people feel a lot better. But they do a lot of harm in their quest. This harm is done to themselves and to an untold number of people who they step on directly or indirectly—in return for a paycheck.
How the monetary system affects the field of psychology
Like all academic fields, it is dominated by money. Top practitioners monetize their time and measure their success by money. Top researchers need funding. Top professor “chairs” are funded by money foundations. These money interests get what they want—a field that stays within boundaries.