400 Years of Capitalism’s Psychopathic Foundations: How Structural Incentives Breed Toxic Leadership

A **Coyote** or **Eshu** reading would expose how the study’s 'first corporate psychopath' is a mythic figure—part origin story, part boogeyman. The Dutch East India Company’s psychopathy wasn’t an accident but a *feature*, like Hermes’ thievery or Loki’s chaos: necessary to disrupt stagnant systems but ultimately destructive. The trickster here is **capitalism itself**, which *requires* psychopaths to function—just as the market requires crises to justify its existence. The study’s solemn tone conceals the absurdity: we celebrate 'disruptors' like Elon Musk while ignoring that his behavior fits the psychopathy profile. **Erasmus’ *Praise of Folly*** would laugh at our surprise—of course the system breeds monsters when it rewards them.