Incels, Narcissists, and the Victim Mindset

My guest on today’s Reason Interview podcast is psychologist, podcaster, and best-selling author

Scott Barry Kaufman

, whose new book is Rise Above: Overcome a Victim Mindset, Empower Yourself, and Realize Your Full Potential. It’s part self-help, part social commentary, and all about reclaiming your life from limiting beliefs.

I talked with him in front of a live audience at the Village Underground comedy club in New York City, and Scott discusses his unlikely journey from special ed student to Ivy League academic, how we’ve built a society that rewards neuroticism and victimhood, and why he thinks vulnerable narcissism in running wild on college campuses and in national politics.

Scott mixes the empathy of Carl Rogers with the blunt logic of Albert Ellis—they were two of the 20th century’s most influential therapists–and he has some wild stories involving opera school, Facebook-stalking his childhood bullies, and awkward camp crushes. This is a conversation about tapping into your full potential and taking control of your life while making the world a better place.

Here are the topics we cover. Scroll below that for links to the YouTube, Apple, Spotify, and Soundcloud versions of the interview. There’s a full transcript at Reason.

0:00—Introduction

1:30—Limiting beliefs come from our past.

6:00—The victim mindset

10:49—What is vulnerable narcissism?

12:12—Kaufman's experience in special education

17:35—Childhood trauma from summer camp

21:49—Narcissism is a defensive posture.

26:24—Kaufman's unconventional path to Carnegie Mellon

31:09—Group victimhood and empowerment

37:40—Why coddling and tough love are both wrong

41:55—Embracing optimism in the face of darkness

48:00—Developing a flexible identity

Upcoming events:

• Reason Versus debate: Jacob Sullum and Billy Binion vs. Charles Fain Lehman and Rafael Mangual, June 24 in Washington, D.C.

• Reason Speakeasy: Nick Gillespie and Elizabeth Nolan Brown on the MAHA Movement, June 25, in New York City

• The Reason Roundtable Live, July 15, in New York City

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