Kleshas: The Five Political Afflictions

Patanjali identifies five kleshas (afflictions) that distort perception and generate suffering: avidya (ignorance), asmita (ego-sense), raga (attachment), dvesha (aversion), and abhinivesha (fear of loss). Political psychology reveals these as universal drivers of polarization and conflict. Avidya manifests as citizens accepting propaganda uncritically; asmita as political identity rigidity; raga as attachment to preferred candidates regardless of performance; dvesha as pathological opposition to political enemies; abhinivesha as zero-sum thinking where compromise means existential loss. These aren't individual pathologies but structural features of political psychology. Authoritarian movements exploit all five kleshas simultaneously: creating ignorance through information control, fusing identity with movement, promising attachment satisfaction, targeting designated enemies, and inducing existential fear. Democratic systems fail when institutions assume rational actors free from kleshas. Effective political psychology must acknowledge kleshas as universal human patterns, then design institutions and practices that mitigate them. Education addressing avidya, practices reducing asmita and raga, bridge-building reducing dvesha, and security provision reducing abhinivesha create resilient political systems. Understanding kleshas explains why willpower and moral exhortation fail; lasting change requires addressing root psychological patterns.