The collective self- saboteur
Reader comment on item: Ehud Olmert on the Gaza Withdrawal – A Dreamy Return to Oslo

Submitted by Mike (United States), Nov 19, 2007 at 10:40

Carl Jung, the great psychoanalyst postulated the theory of psychological archetypes. Archetypes are powerful symbols that represent aspects of a person's personality. One such archetype is that of the self -saboteur.

As a psychologist I often think about how a person or group sabotages their success. I think about how to help them shift from saboteur to achiever. I don't personally know any of the Israeli leadership, but I do know how people and groups sabotage themselves. Self-delusion is one way. Wishful thinking may be part of self-delusion or a separate sabotaging strategy. There is no hope in avoiding reality. The hope is in facing what exists and developing appropriate strategies for coping.

It is apparent that strategies of concession only further the agenda of the opponent that is sworn to destroy Israel. Such strategies do not advance the agenda of regional peace. There seems to be a collective self-saboteur among many Israeli and American leaders who think they can create a peace process when there is no true peace partner. Imposing our Western approach to compromise on the situation is self-sabotaging. Our leaders appear to consistently underestimate the opponent.

This is a tragic error and another way to sabotage one's own success. Perhaps our leaders could hire a Jungian psychologist as a consultant to help them recognize their self-sabotaging thought processes. Of course, to do this would undermine their self-sabotaging approach as it would be a way to shift from self-sabotage to success.

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