Political leaders project private conflicts onto public symbols and rationalize them as public interests.

Evidence

Lasswell argued that political leaders often project their hidden, private conflicts onto public symbols and objects, rationalizing these specific concerns in terms of general public interests. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 102

Categorization

• XREF: Psychodynamic projection of private conflict onto public objects is an early seed of terror management and political leadership theories elsewhere in this volume. — connects to: Lasswell held that political leaders project private conflicts onto public symbols — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology: Key Readings, 102