to identify those with genes predisposing them to being sociopaths.
I continue not to understand this. A high-functioning sociopath is not the same thing as a sadist. The sociopath's objective is amassing power and aggrandizement, not making people suffer. There's no reason to assume the policies they support would be different from those of any other office-holder who wants to keep getting elected.
I'm assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that the chance of a President doing something very bad (such as make himself a dictator) would be higher if he was a sociopath.
See this Newsroom clip.
Basically, their news network is trying to change the way political debates work by having the moderator force the candidates to answer the questions that are asked of them, not interrupt each other, justify arguments that are based on obvious falsehoods etc.
How big of a positive impact do you guys think that this would have on society?
My initial thoughts are that it would be huge. It would lead to better politicians, which would be a high level of action. The positive effects would trickle down into many aspects of our society.
The question then becomes, "can we make this happen?". I don't see a way right now, but the idea has enough upside to me that I keep it in the back of my mind in case I come up with a plausible way of implementing the change.
Thoughts?