The American Oligarchy is dominated by Extraverted Sensing Thinking Judging Types. They are the predominant type of our CEO’s. They are the predominant type of our military officers. They are the type found in our police, in Police State America.
One of the ways to make America Whole is to ask what’s missing in America and that is the influence of their shadow – the introverted intuitive feeling perceiving types.
So what are the INFP’s – the opposite type of the ESTJ’s who are running our country like?
INFP’s, books I have on type say – are curious about people and ideas are concerned about improving the world. This type is driven by inner values.
Where the people in our Military-Industrial Complex easily use the word Collateral Damage – the INFP’s honor individuals and approach them with a sense of curiosity. They are concerned about people’s needs and are less likely to approach life with the detachment and logic that is the ESTJ’s hallmark.
If we want to understand what is missing from an America dominated by ESTJ’s we have to look at what their shadow values.
The focus of INFP’s is on possibilities rather than being obsessed with economics; the INFP’s focus is on human development. These are the kind of people who might compose a new Department of Peace. Where the ESTJ’s focus on facts, the INFP’s focus on patterns. While the ESTJ’s read just enough to understand a problem, the INFP’s spend hours on nonrequired reading. They get their ideas, not from traditional ways of doing things as the ESTJ’s, but from many diverse sources and connect conceptual links from those varied sources.
While the ESTJ’s don’t like change, the INFP’s are very adaptable. While the ESTJ’s like to lead, control, the INFP’s are unassertive.
While the ESTJ’s are good at understanding things, the INFP’s are good at understanding people. They want to contribute to people’s growth and development. They care about meeting people’s emotional and psychological needs.
While the ESTJ’s are committed to the preservation of what is, the INFP’s use their strong moral compass for possibilities of change in the future. While the ESTJ’s are trying to enforce a New World Order Group Think on America, the INFP’s work autonomously and are original and introspective.
Where the ESTJ’s use sensing to take in information, the INFP’s use intuition. Where the ESTJ’s use logic in decision making, the INFP’s use an inner valuing process – their introverted feeling.
Where the ESTJ’s are comfortable with continuous war, the INFP’s are the peacemakers. Where the ESTJ’s want concrete results now, the INFP’s explore long-term solutions and opportunities. They are attuned to individual differences.
Where the ESTJ’s want details, the INFP’s want dialogue and in-depth communication. Where the ESTJ’s want results, the INFP’s care about the needs of people, attune to their emotions and their values and are better at avoiding interpersonal conflict creating harmony even when their own needs go unmet.
Where in a world controlled by ESTJ’s we are losing our freedom, INFP’s give people the freedom to set their own goals, to be independent.
Where the ESTJ’s ask is it practical. The INFP’s take the time to listen, aren’t goal oriented at the expense of people’s needs. They don’t try to control or exert power over people.
ESTJ’s care about business needs; INFP’s care about people needs.
Where the ESTJ is sometimes to quick to decide on a course of action and once it is decided finds it hard to revisit it, the INFP’s want to brainstorm multiple possibilities for approaching every situation. With their extraverted intuition they are the experts on new and different ways of doing things. If we want to think outside of the box, we don’t use our sensing, we use our extraverted intuition. What is lacking in America run by ESTJ’s is generating new possibilities.
What is also lacking is the stress on values, ethics and beliefs that are part of the decision-making process for INFP’s – America’s shadow.
If what we are doing doesn’t feel right in our gut – we need to stop doing it.
INFP’s don’t ask like the ESTJ’s is it politically correct. They ask is it internally important. It treats others like individuals, lets them be outspoken and make their own decisions. No New World Order Conformity here.
By looking at how INFP’s do things, America can recover our lost idealism. We can start asking questions about meaning and purpose and generate the missing spirit of harmony in our world.
Harmony is created when we become good at listening and responding to others with sensitivity. We need to replace short term goals with a look at the big picture. We need to not just think in terms of objectives, but in terms of looking at people as individuals. We need to motivate others through rediscovering our common ideals.
ESTJ’s love hierarchy. INFJ’s want to create a facilitative structure that helps people to solve their own problems. They don’t micromanage like ESTJ’s. They promote imagination and creativity. They care more for people’s feelings than the bottom line.
What would America be like if it incorporated INFP sensibilities? It would focus on group consensus and shared values. It would be flexible and wouldn’t compromise its values. It would realize that idealism is as important as realism. It would become a country of integrity again. It would be less competitive.
An America with a developed introverted feeling would know its ideals, have a common purpose, and be open to new ideas. It would generate a unique leadership in place of a conventional one. It would be a nonbureaucratic environment that cared not only for what was important to it, but for what is important to others. It wouldn’t say better there than here, but would identify with others and focus more on people, influencing others by our example.
An America with a developed introverted feeling would have a conscience. It would “filter every decision, behavior, and statement” through a strong sense of its values and establish “an external life that is congruent with them” providing an example of moral behavior for mankind.
Instead of trying to develop the Group Think of A New World Order, it would relish diversity. It would work for the welfare of humanity. It wouldn’t make the production of material goods the end all and be all, focusing on production, efficiency and bottom line, but focus more on people and their needs.