174 REFLECTIONS ON CHARACTER AND LEADERSHIP
paranoid outlook, initially with good reason: people really were after
him; his playmates did torture him; he was an outcast. Eventually,
though, his vigilance ran rampant, and he responded to perceived threats
as actual threats, spoiling for a fi ght even when there was no need.
By the time he was an adult, this kind of behavior had become his
main operating mode; he had become a sadist who enjoyed infl icting
violence.
Although in some individuals constant belittlement leads to depres-
sive behavior, Shaka stood up to his tormentors and fought back and as
each successful counterattack built up his confi dence, his psychological
balance gradually shifted from impotence to power. But even as Shaka ’ s
growing power counteracted his earlier sense of powerlessness, his fear
of being regarded as a cowardly nobody lingered — one possible explana-
tion for his need to kill his regular quota of cowards when he was in a
position to do so.
Because of the violence that individuals like Shaka experience in
early childhood, they have little understanding of the good qualities in
others. Kindness is viewed as weakness, inadequacy, and unreliability.
Sadistic people believe only in might: they identify with powerful, cruel
fi gures and derive pleasure from the suffering and destruction of the
weak. As a result, they create a fearful world in which the biblical injunc-
tion to ‘ Love your neighbor ... ’ is reversed to ‘ Fear your neighbor as
you fear yourself. ’ When this injunction is the motto of a leader, the
expectation that others will act in a hostile manner becomes a self -
fulfi lling prophecy: others follow suit, responding with hostility.
Sadists try to overcome feelings of self - contempt by expressing
superiority (Stekel, 1929 ; Horney, 1945 ). As Erich Fromm noted, the
core of sadism is ‘ the passion to have absolute and unrestricted control
over a living being ’ (Fromm, 1973 , pp. 288 – 289). As each new victim —
each instance of ‘ unrestricted control ’ — takes sadistic personalities closer
to the omnipotence they seek, they feel the aggressive satisfaction noted
earlier.
Sadists also feel an element of righteousness. They rationalize their
cruelty by saying that it is for the victims ’ own good: they are simply
laying down socially helpful rules and encouraging people to follow
them carefully. They are convinced that the weak need to be devalued
and deserve degradation. Shaka often justifi ed his behavior with a
grounding in righteousness.
Certain anecdotes about Shaka suggest, however, that a considerable
number of his subjects believed that he really cared about them. This
apparent blend of kindness and malevolence is common in sadistic types,
but it is only apparent. Perceived kindness is actually deceit, a form of