PSYCHOMANIPULATION - Tomasz Witkowski

Top Writer goes out. The Boss calls the first writer back in and promises to give him a raise. The
next episode of the story comes out the next day, with the following opening: "With a superhuman
effort, Mike Gilderstern overcame these irritations and went back to New York.”18
This is one of my favourite stories, and it is a perfect illustration of how the technique of “all
or nothing” works. It consists in one of the parties consciously giving up all control of events. “The
hero jumps out of the plane at an altitude of…etc.”. In reality, however, this giving up of control is
only an illusion, as there is always the option of making “a superhuman effort to overcome these
irritations”.
This strategy is often used by politicians. They make a public statement of the conditions
under which they are prepared to negotiate, while making it clear that they are not prepared to make
any concessions. By doing this, they put pressure on the other side even before discussions begin.
When it comes to negotiation, a politician who has used this strategy can counter any proposed
concessions with the answer: – I understand your point of view, but please remember that I have
already made a public statement of my position, and if I back down now, nobody will take me
seriously. I simply can’t afford to back down. This is something of a gamble, as the manipulating
party risks losing control of the situation without leaving any escape route open. While writing this,
I am a witness of the collapse of the Polish governing coalition of two parties, Akcja Wyborcza
"Solidarność" (Electoral Action Solidarity) and Unia Wolności (Freedom Union – FU). Deputy
Prime Minister Leszek Balcerowicz withdrew all the FU ministers from the government, thus
surrendering control of the situation. Soon afterwards, before the Prime Minister (representing
Electoral Action Solidarity) had accepted the ministers’ resignations, the FU initiated negotiations.
Despite conducting negotiations in accordance with the strategy of all or nothing, the FU failed to
achieve its aims, and the fact that it entered into negotiations after its ministers had tendered their
resignations exposed the weakness of the party’s position and its manipulative strategy. It became
clear that the party was not so much interested in leaving the coalition as in simply improving its
negotiating position. According to political commentators: If we try to establish what the FU was
trying to achieve by passing a resolution on the withdrawal of its ministers from the government,
18 M. Hłasko, Piękni dwudziestoletni (20-years-old Beauties). Kos Publishers, Krakow 1981.
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