### **Diagnostic Criteria for "Absurdly Rich Sociopathic Entitlement Disorder (ARSED)"**
*(Proposed for inclusion in future editions of the DSM)*

#### **A. Core Features**
A pervasive pattern of extreme wealth accumulation accompanied by maladaptive psychological and behavioral traits, beginning in early adulthood and present in various contexts, as indicated by at least **five (5) or more** of the following:

1. **Deficient Empathy:** Displays a chronic inability or unwillingness to recognize the suffering, struggles, or needs of others, even when directly responsible for their hardship. May rationalize exploitation or suffering as a necessary outcome of their own success.
2. **Narcissistic Grandiosity:** Maintains an inflated sense of self-importance, believing their wealth signifies inherent superiority, intelligence, or worthiness. Often exhibits excessive entitlement to admiration, obedience, or special treatment.
3. **Psychopathic Traits:** Demonstrates callousness, manipulation, or a lack of remorse in pursuit of personal and financial gains. May exploit legal loopholes, workers, or the environment without ethical concern.
4. **Extreme Privilege Blindness:** Exhibits an inability or unwillingness to recognize the systemic advantages that contributed to their status, often engaging in self-mythologizing narratives of "self-made success."
5. **Delusions of Grandeur:** Holds irrational beliefs about their omnipotence, seeing themselves as uniquely capable of solving world problems—often in ways that ignore or exacerbate structural issues. May attempt to reshape society according to their personal ideology.
6. **Compulsive Resource Hoarding:** Accumulates and withholds excessive financial, material, or land-based resources beyond reasonable personal needs, despite awareness of widespread societal inequities. Finds security in unchecked accumulation.
7. **Exploitative Control:** Uses wealth to exert disproportionate influence over political, social, or economic structures, often engaging in behaviors that reinforce their own power at the expense of the public good.

#### **B. Impairment & Consequences**
- The individual's behaviors result in **significant harm to others** (e.g., systemic worker exploitation, ecological destruction, destabilization of democratic processes).
- Despite external material success, the individual may exhibit **deficient interpersonal relationships, an inability to form genuine connections, or a deep-seated paranoia regarding threats to their status.**

#### **C. Exclusionary Criteria**
- The individual is not excessively wealthy.
- The pattern is **not better explained** by other conditions such as Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD), Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD), or Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD), although high comorbidity with these may exist.
- The behaviors are **not solely attributable** to a temporary manic or psychotic episode.

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### **Specifiers**
- **Corporate Feudalism Subtype:** Characterized by monopolization of industries, lobbying for deregulation, and aggressive union suppression.
- **Technocrat Messiah Subtype:** Marked by a belief in their personal ability to "solve" social crises through technology, often with little regard for democratic governance or unintended consequences.
- **Neo-Philanthropist Subtype:** Engages in highly publicized charitable efforts that reinforce their own power, wealth, or ideological control rather than addressing root systemic issues.

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### **Prognosis & Treatment**
- **Prognosis:** Guarded to poor. Individuals rarely seek treatment voluntarily, as their position insulates them from natural consequences. External interventions (e.g., wealth redistribution, progressive taxation, corporate regulation) are often more effective than direct psychological treatment.
- **Treatment Considerations:** Cognitive-behavioral approaches may be attempted but are often limited by entrenched delusions of superiority. Radical exposure therapy involving forced wealth redistribution may yield the best outcomes.

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### **Notes:**
- This diagnosis is not currently recognized by the APA but reflects emerging critiques of extreme wealth hoarding as a form of maladaptive psychopathology.
- Further research is needed to determine the most effective intervention strategies, though historical precedent suggests wealth caps and systemic economic reforms may be necessary preventative measures.