Um... You think he has it "exactly right" when he says that Hitler acted the way he did from a *lack* of self-confidence? *snort*
Most of those that do not agree with you here are confusing the false self esteem of narcissistic personality disorder with true self esteem (as you have properly described.)
Nonsense. As those of us who disagree have pointed out at length, we're entirely *clear* on the difference between the two. It is instead *sinkspur* who doesn't seem to grasp that the two are distinct from each other, it's the reason he's still baffled about how anyone who had "self-esteem" could possibly hurt a fly.
He fails to understand that while the latter type is constructive, the former type is destructive. I'm amazed that you would think sinkspur was "exactly right", since he's arguing *against* the position (and esteem-type distinctions) that Nathanial Branden holds (and you seem to be a student of Branden).
The author of the article mentions Nathaniel Branden, but goes on to prove that he hasn't understood his books. Is anyone reading this thread familiar with Branden's description of self esteem?
Yes, and nothing the author says about Branden's work conflicts with it. You're reading way too much into the authors short cite of Branden -- he's not laying the entire modern bogus "self-esteem movement" (which is based on a false, unfounded sense of self-worth) on Branden, he's simply listing him in a long list of people who helped make "self-esteem" a Big Topic in the 60's and 70's and helped hype (one might say overhyped) its significance. Here's his entire comment about Branden:
In 1969, Nathaniel Branden, a psychologist from Toronto who was once the lover and acolyte of Ayn Rand, moved over to this burgeoning field with The Psychology of Self Esteem, declaring self-esteem "the single most significant key to behaviour."Are you disputing that Branden holds such a position? Don't try, he clearly does. He has authored an avalanche of books on the topic:
A Woman's Self-Esteem: Struggles and Triumphs in the Search for Identity (1998)
Self-Esteem at Work: How Confident People Make Powerful Companies (1998)
Self-Esteem Every Day: Reflections on Self-Esteem and Spirituality (1998)
The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem (1994)
The Art of Self-Discovery: A Powerful Technique For Building Self-Esteem (1993)
The Power of Self-Esteem (1992)
How To Raise Your Self-Esteem (1987)
The Psychology of Self-Esteem: A New Concept of Man's Psychological Nature (1969)
And contrary to your claim that the author "doesn't understand Branden", in fact the point the author is making is quite similar to Branden's own, concerning legitimate self-esteem versus counterfeit self-esteem
From Alice Miller, "Adolf Hitler: How Could a Monster Succeed in Blinding a Nation?"
"It was in large part owing to Hitler and his history that I became aware of the dangers of our traditional morality. We are exhorted to honor our parents and never question them no matter what they have done. Yet when I realize that millions of human beings had to die so that Adolf Hitler could keep his repression of childhood trauma intact, that millions were subjected to humiliation in concentration camps so that he never had to recognize how he had once been humiliated, then I believe that one can't point out these connections often enough in order to shed light on this unconscious production of evil. How should young people be expected to recognize and reject inhumanity and crime if these continue to be disguised instead of being pointed out as plainly as possible? Only when young people are permitted to know exactly what happened and how it could happen, only if they don't allow anything to stifle their curiosity and are not afraid of the truth, can they free themselves from the burden placed upon them by their forebears' blindness."
I don't think you have a clue about narcissistic personality disorder or childhood psychology. But that won't stop you because you have a choir here to preach to.