There is overlap between psychopathy and narcissism and machiavellianism. It is called the dark triad. They are called "dark" because of their malevolent qualities. The power-hungry power elite are drenched in these dark qualities and combined with their high intelligence they're masters in hiding it from the general public which keeps being deceived and even votes their political puppets with similar traits into office.

The term psychopathy refers to a personality disorder that includes a cluster of interpersonal, affective, lifestyle, and antisocial traits and behaviors. These involve deception; manipulation; irresponsibility; impulsivity; stimulation seeking; poor behavioral controls; shallow affect; lack of empathy, guilt, or remorse; sexual promiscuity; callous disregard for the rights of others; and unethical and antisocial behaviors. Psychopathy is the most dangerous of the personality disorders.*

Psychopathy is inborn and immutable*. It is dangerous and it is rampant in the world of human power because psychopaths also tend to be power-hungry and hunt for positions of power.

Sociopaths are different because they cannot love. Sociopaths learn early on to show sham emotion, but underneath they are indifferent to others' suffering. They live to dominate and thrill to win.

Psychopaths do not feel emotions. Out of self-interest they can fake emotions in order to maneuver others under their control. Researchers at the FBI said that psychopathic manipulation usually begins by creating a mask, known as psychopathic fiction, in the minds of those targeted. In interpersonal situations, this façade shows the psychopath as the ideal friend*. See also The Mask of Sanity.

Highminded words can be used by the powerful, the demagogue and the hypocrite, or the merely self-deluded, to arouse passion and prejudice and sentimentality for the wrong reasons in favor of disguised real aims, thus to deceive the people and to lead them by easy stages to sacrifice their own interests in the service of power.

Manipulation almost always involves deception. And manipulators are among the most clever, accomplished liars. ... Manipulators don't just deceive you about who they are. They also deceive you about what they're doing and why they're doing it.*

In some fields, the more psychopathic people are, the more likely they are to succeed. The "best" psychopaths that make it to the top are highly educated with high IQ's, but also with low EQ's*. They are masters in psychological manipulation and deceit. Often those they abuse are only vaguely aware of what is happening to them. For example sovereignty of nation states is being taken away under the umbrella of globalization by which the power elite draw ever more power to themselves, away from the people. They often speech in favor of democracy, but they act in favor of globalization which is anti-democratic in essence. Taxpayer money is used to bail out the world's most criminal bankers. The global financial crisis is a good example of how destructive and damaging psychopathy can be. Psychopaths working in corporations and in financial corporations have had a major part in causing the crisis. Tax havens flourished under the wings of the power elite while extreme inequality kept growing in their favor. Like predators are found around preys, the most power-hungry and greedy are found where most of the money is.

A narcissist might believe he has a closer connection to God – but it’s more important to him that other people acknowledge this connection and admire his deep sense of spirituality.* For example presidents of the United States have a habit of believing or making believe that they are "driven with a mission from God", in line with the delusional belief in American exceptionalism. For example George W. Bush said in 2005...

I am driven with a mission from God. God would tell me, "George, go and fight these terrorists in Afghanistan". And I did. And then God would tell me "George, go and end the tyranny in Iraq". And I did... And now, again, I feel God's words coming to me, "Go get the Palestinians their state and get the Israelis their security, and get peace in the Middle East". And, by God, I'm gonna do it.*

In 2004 Barack Obama said: I think I have an ongoing conversation with God.* In his book The Audacity of Hope Obama wrote how he felt God's spirit beckoning him and he said I submitted myself to His will, and dedicated myself to discovering His truth. He says he prays every day for forgiveness for my sins and flaws, which are many, the protection of my family, and that I'm carrying out God's will, not in a grandiose way, but simply that there is an alignment between my actions and what he would want.*

Making it to the top and being in positions of power automatically means looking down on those that are under control. According to a study of the University of Colorado people assigned to positions of power tend to dehumanize those in less powerful positions*. Members of higher status groups perceive the ingroup as more human than the outgroup, while members of lower status groups did not assign a privileged human status to the ingroup. People use dehumanization to justify greed, violence, and abuse.* The higher in the hierarchy of power, the more corrupt and the more dehumanizing people become.

Machiavellianism is the employment of cunning and duplicity in statecraft or in general conduct. It is key to understanding human power and corruption. Niccolò Machiavelli is described as the Galileo of politics, the first political scientist, a realist, a pragmatist, a cynic*. He explained power and politics from the perspective of reality and demonstrated that behind a veneer of pretended morality, honesty, integrity, and Christian practices and virtues there dwelt another sphere of action, a dark world, dominated by greed, ruthlessness, hypocrisy, lies, intrigue, deception, and even murder.* See also Realpolitik. Some quotes by Machiavelli...

If you only notice human proceedings, you may observe that all who attain great power and riches, make use of either force or fraud; and what they have acquired either by deceit or violence, in order to conceal the disgraceful methods of attainment, they endeavor to sanctify with the false title of honest gains.

It is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them. And I shall dare to say this also, that to have them and always observe them is injurious, and that to appear to have them is useful; to appear merciful, faithful, humane, religious, upright, and to be so, but with a mind so framed that should you require not to be so, you may be able and know how to change to the opposite.

All this was inspired by the principle - which is quite true in itself - that in the big lie there is always a certain force of credibility; because the broad masses of a nation are always more easily corrupted in the deeper strata of their emotional nature than consciously or voluntarily; and thus in the primitive simplicity of their minds they more readily fall victims to the big lie than the small lie, since they themselves often tell small lies in little matters but would be ashamed to resort to large-scale falsehoods. It would never come into their heads to fabricate colossal untruths, and they would not believe that others could have the impudence to distort the truth so infamously. Even though the facts which prove this to be so may be brought clearly to their minds, they will still doubt and waver and will continue to think that there may be some other explanation. For the grossly impudent lie always leaves traces behind it, even after it has been nailed down, a fact which is known to all expert liars in this world and to all who conspire together in the art of lying. These people know only too well how to use falsehood for the basest purposes.*

The "best" psychopaths are also the biggest liars. Big lies are meant to deceive the masses and to advance an agenda which is usually in disfavor of the people lied to. See also DEMONcracy, IndoctriNATION, Good vs Evil and CONspiracy.