RALPH  KENYON
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This page was updated by Ralph Kenyon on 2020-12-10 at 01:32 and has been accessed 3354 times at 34 hits per month.

Amoral Trump

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Trump is neither evil nor mentally ill. His is a case of extreme arrested development brought on by a complete lack of being held accountable by his parents and servants. He is at the extreme of all the maladies that have been listed. He is the epitome of the negation of the Scout Law: "A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent." There is only one of these twelve principles that he may epitomize. How did he not become a "normal" social person?  To answer this question, look at the stages of development as Lawrence Kohlberg interpreted Jean Piaget's work in child development.
"Stage 0: Egocentric judgement. The child makes judgements of good on the basis of what he likes and wants or what helps him, and bad on the basis of what he does not like or what hurts him. He has no concept of rules or of obligations to obey or conform independent of his wish."
Indulgence and pampering by parents and servants started Trump down the path of his getting anything he wanted. It does not provide a basis for learning rules - undermining any possibility of understanding "the rule of law".
"Stage 1: The punishment and obedience orientation. The physical consequences of action determine its goodness or badness regardless of the human meaning or value of these consequences. Avoidance of punishment and unquestioning deference to power are values in their own right, not in terms of respect for an underlying moral order supported by punishment and authority (the latter is stage 4)."
Complete lack of accountability, discipline, and consequences is a recipe for not learning any semblance of this stage. Never being punished, and being completely indulged in all his demands prevents developing this stage. Temper tantrums and coddling creates his dictatorial demanding. It feed development of his "I can do no wrong" (what's that?) ego and narcissism.  Rudimentary bribery without consequences for reneging introduces young trump to barter, but there's no sense of equal value, and no consequences for breaking the "deal".  Trump himself stated that "it's ok if you can get away with it" and "anything is okay if you can get away with it".  With that perspective, you can see that there is no equity in his concept of a deal.
"Stage 2: The instrumental relativist orientation. Right action consists of what instrumentally satisfies one's own needs and occasionally the needs of others. Human relations are viewed in terms such as those of the market place. Elements of fairness, reciprocity, and equal sharing are present, but they are always interpreted in a physical, pragmatic way. Reciprocity is a matter of 'you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours', not loyalty, gratitude, or justice."
The only fairness and equality in his deals were when he could not get away with it.  You scratch his back, and, when it comes time for him to scratch your back, he wont do it, or he is vicious.  He used threats and bullying (like in his childhood tantrums) to get unfair "deals".  And, as he got into the business world, he used gag orders in settlements to keep his nefarious methods hidden from the public.
"Stage 5: The social-contract legalistic orientation (generally with utilitarian overtones). Right action tends to be defined in terms of general individual rights and standards that have been critically examined and agreed upon by the whole society. There is a clear awareness of the relativism of personal values and opinions and a corresponding emphasis upon procedural rules for reaching consensus. Aside from what is constitutionally and democratically agreed upon, right action is a matter of personal values and opinions. The result is an emphasis upon the "legal point of view", but with an additional emphasis upon the possibility of changing the law in terms of rational considerations of social utility (rather than freezing it in terms of stage 4 "law and order"). Outside the legal realm, free agreement, and contract, is the binding element of obligation. The "official" morality of the American government and Constitution is at this stage."
There is no possibility that Donald Trump is ever going to be capable of understanding the United States Constitution.  Likewise he can not understand stage 3, as it requires social reciprocity and personal loyalty, or stage 4 - commitment to law and order - rules.

Stages of Moral Development, Lawrence Kohlberg (1971)


Ralph E Kenyon Jr.
191 White Oaks Road
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