Cannibalism used to be considered normal. In fact it was normal to eat some of the body parts of your conquered enemies and/or keep their shrunken heads around as decorations.

We stopped doing that because at some point we worked out that it was gross and - eventually - that it was also very unhealthy.

Technically it was a local minimum - a place to pause, but not somewhere you really want to stay.

Narcissism is similar. It's a hugely problematic way of being in the world that has been normalised for centuries. If we're lucky we're about to outgrow it.

Lacking empathy for others and for the environment is an issue of psychological hygiene and cognitive effectiveness.

In the same that poor physical hygiene causes serious health issues in the population, poor mental and psychological hygiene causes emotional and behavioural issues.

You could argue cannibalism should be a free choice and keeping the old ways is not only not harmful but a matter of honour and dignity.

No doubt those arguments were made when it was on its way out.

Narcissism is similar. It's incredibly corrosive personally and politically, and there isn't really a good argument for tolerating it.

Cannibalism is considered hopelessly abnormal behaviour today, and with any luck individual and collective narcissism will soon go the same way.