{{original research, date=February 2020
The Phaeton complex is a psychological condition described by
Maryse Choisy
Maryse Choisy (1903–1979) was a French philosophical writer, journalist and founder of the journal ''Psyché''.
Biography
Born in Saint-Jean-de-Luz on 1 February 1903, she was brought up by her rich aunts in a historical castle in the Basque ...
as a "painful combination of thoughts and emotions caused by the absence, loss, coldness, or traumatizing behavior of one or both parents, resulting in frustration and aggression".
The theory was devised by
Lucille Iremonger
Lucille d'Oyen Iremonger, née Parks, (June 1915 – January 1989) was a Jamaican writer and politician, active in the United Kingdom.
Iremonger was born to Ivy Lucille (Joseph) Parks and Basil Oscar Parks (1882–1947) in Kingston, Jamaic ...
, who in 1970 studied the 24 British prime ministers who held office from 1809 to 1940, and found that 62% of these men had lost one or both parents by age 15, compared to a national average of 10-15% in those times. Hugh Berrington expanded on the theory in 1974, finding sufferers of the Phaeton complex to be less sociable, flexible or tolerant, instead being ambitious, vain, sensitive, lonely and shy.
Micha Popper
Micha Popper is a professor emeritus in the department of psychology at the University of Haifa, Israel. He was the commander of the Israel Defense Forces Leadership Development School, co-founder and director of the Institute for Quality Leaders ...
, though, disputes that an unhappy childhood always leads to obsessive urges, citing
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 Winston Churchill in the Second World War, dur ...
as an example where childhood unhappiness had positive results.
The name derives from the Greek myth of Phaeton, a child of the sun god, who demands to drive his father's chariot and in doing so, falls to earth and scorches the Sahara Desert.
Examples
Neville Chamberlain
Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 18699 November 1940) was a British politician of the Conservative Party who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940. He is best known for his foreign policy of appeasemen ...
, UK prime minister 1937–40, having lost his mother by age six, is said to have displayed 'all the characteristics of the damaged Phaeton - immature, sensitive, cold, secretive and depressed' when in office, according to Harry Davis.
Zulfikar Ali Bhutto
Zulfikar (or Zulfiqar) Ali Bhutto ( ur, , sd, ذوالفقار علي ڀٽو; 5 January 1928 – 4 April 1979), also known as Quaid-e-Awam ("the People's Leader"), was a Pakistani barrister, politician and statesman who served as the fourth ...
is described by Shamim Ahmad as a neglected child, 'having a sense of insecurity that drove him to prove himself worthy'.
In a discussion of the Phaeton complex, Tom McTague lists
Boris Johnson
Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...
,
Theresa May
Theresa Mary May, Lady May (; née Brasier; born 1 October 1956) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2016 to 2019. She previously served in David Cameron's cab ...
,
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
and
Tony Blair
Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of th ...
as examples of ambitious, isolated, detached politicians who suffered a 'deprivation of love' in childhood. Tom McTague, ''Boris Johnson meets his destiny'', The Atlantic, 22 July 2019
See also
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Complex (psychology)
A complex is a structure in the unconscious that is objectified as an underlying theme—like a power or a status—by grouping clusters of emotions, memories, perceptions and wishes in response to a threat to the stability of the self. In p ...
*
Ideocracy
Ideocracy (a portmanteau word combining "ideology" and ''kratos'', Greek for "power") is "governance of a state according to the principles of a particular (political) ideology; a state or country governed in this way". It is government based on ...
*
Napoleon complex
The "Napoleon complex", known informally as small man syndrome, is a syndrome normally attributed to people of small stature. It is characterized by overly-aggressive or domineering social behavior, such as lying about earnings, and carries the ...