Originally Posted by
tcaudilllg
A person's superego functions are such because they are the alternative to using the regular function. For example, ENFj argues that if a causality chain is becoming a viscious cycle, then one had better do something to stop the chain than to let it run its course, or at least to pick up after it. The worst possible thing is to do nothing. Doing something is the alternative to allowing the forces awakened by this causal chain to fight it out amongst each other, and then having to perform the work necessary to restore harmony. The Great Depression and its aftermath are a case in point: everything economic went downhill; people did nothing or not enough; emotional passions clashed against each other; and a huge exchange of energy was waged in a global struggle of military force. Had something been done, that violent energy would have probably manifested instead as positive emotion and trade growth, interdepency etc..
This is the ENFj perspective on WWII and the Depression years which preceded it. In fact, through the lense of FeNi strengthening TiSe, the basis for all of the dischord in those years can be observed. Because people did nothing when they could have done something, TiSe reacted with an avalanche of regulations: on the one hand welfare, social security, and other instruments of the social safety net; on the other trade protectionism and the restraint of assistance between nations. The work struggle created by these regulations is with us still, as are the emotional reactions to being compelled to assist others on basis of them. In Germany in those times, the causal chain tread a different path. The Nazi party grew popular when it agreed to meet the demands of Germans who wanted a vast regulatory body to oversee everything in their lives, so caught up were they not only in their own viscious cycles, but also others' as well. The result was totalitarian socialism. ****** turned the outcome of this system back onto itself, using German prosperity to raise an army by which he could set his own causal chain into motion. TeSi and FeNi reinforce each other.
In general, the superego is thought of as the "bad alternative" to using the functions of ego block. This of course being because one is not as good at using those. Should something go wrong because one has not already done all that one could, then dealing with it in a way that ill suits you is your punishment; for the superego arises from without, in that by abdicating responsibility you create problems for others, and from within in that you create problems also for yourself.
It is meaningful to note that one need not shoulder all the responsibility for a situation. Similarly, one must also try to accept that although you yourself may not be good at handling a situation, others may. Just because someone is wanting to use functions in your ego block does not make them stupid; it may just be a viable alternative, and especially when your own limits are reached it may be best to let this alternative run its course in the care of a capable other.