That’s the disturbing question we have to ask about our current national obsession: why would we want to live through the ordeal of “Game of Thrones”?

And it’s not just “Game of Thrones.” Consider the other big “prestige TV” hits like “Breaking Bad” or “House of Cards,” or the one that touched off the current mania for the brooding anti-hero, “The Sopranos,” all of which largely consist of bad people doing bad things to one another. It even spills over into non-violent entertainment, with one reviewer of “Girls” musing that the “despicableness” of its protagonists is central to the show.

It’s as if our highbrow culture is trying to cultivate in us the esthetic taste of a sociopath. Yes, this can be dressed in a little subtle moralizing (in the case of “Breaking Bad”) to help viewers not feel like complete heels. And to be sure, some of the actual story-telling is quite well done, with sharply drawn characters and good dialogue.

The question isn’t whether there is talent behind these shows, but why that talent is employed on such a brutal, bloodthirsty subject matter. Is there nothing else in the world interesting enough to make a television show about?