If only there were evil people somewhere insidiously committing evil deeds, and it were necessary only to separate them from the rest of us and destroy them. But the line dividing good and evil cuts through the heart of every human being. And who is willing to destroy a piece of his own heart?
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn
When you think of “evil” people, someone that you consider wrong or abnormal probably comes to mind. A thief; murderer; abusive partner; psychopath.
You consider “evil” as something separate from yourself. Of course, you are not evil. No way.
But, perhaps you have the potential inside for both good and evil?
Although you don’t operate without conscience (as a psychopath does), perhaps you do occasionally behave in a similarly evil way — just through smaller acts? (Or, could you at least admit that you have fantasized about wicked deeds?)
Could your smaller acts cause massive harm given the right circumstances?
Could smaller acts even be the primary source of the world’s evil?
Evil that arises out of ordinary thinking and is committed by ordinary people is the norm, not the exception.
Ervin Staub
Smaller Acts of Evil
Let’s play a game.
Who is more evil: a psychopath or his neighbors?
- The Psychopath:
Consider one psychopathic person named Jud, who is 100% evil. He has zero concern for the well-being of others, and will exploit anyone for his gain every single chance he gets.
There are very few people like Jud. He is 1 out of 1000 in his community. This proportion is realistic — as roughly 1% of people are psychopathic — Jud being an exceptionally active, intelligent, hard-to-catch case within that subset. (Most psychopaths are not crazed killers, and most are imprisoned.)
Evil Jud steals from local stores and breaks into houses while owners are on vacation. When his elderly neighbor lost her cat, he found the animal — but tortured and killed Fluffy instead of returning her.
Luckily, Jud is only one person, so there is a limited amount of harm he can do. His behavior is often kept in check by making sure not to get caught by the other 999 people around him.
Jud recently started a shaving company called Ruthless Razors. The business has had a good start due to its very affordable product; and a popular, anti-bullying commercial Jud produced called “The Best a Kid Can Be.” Jud has promised to donate one penny for every razor sold to an anti-bullying charity. (Most people are indifferent to the fact that the company uses child labor overseas to achieve their low prices.) - The Psychopath’s Neighbors:
Now let’s look at the other 999 people in Jud’s neighborhood. Let’s say they are only 10% evil on average. They generally try not to lie, cheat, or harm others. But they may if it’s something small, or if they can find an excuse (such as “many others are doing it” or “I’m too busy”).
A few individuals — with rough childhoods, mental illnesses, or simply a lot of excuses — cause more harm than others, but are decent people in normal circumstances. They are balanced out by those who take extra care to do no evil at all. A young couple and a friend even started a campaign against Jud’s company.
The majority seem to be “good guys.”
However, their 10% of evil can do damage, especially when occasionally spiked to 40 or 50% (a recent drunken brawl put someone in the hospital). And if their 10% of evil align on any given subject, catastrophes occur. After all, there are 999 of them and only one of Jud.
As it stands, one significant issue is that many neighbors are actively supporting and increasing child labor by purchasing Ruthless Razors. Large scale child exploitation is an evil deed that Jud could never accomplish on his own. It comes from the community.
So, who is more evil: the psychopath or his neighbors?
Thought leaders — Stanley Milgram, Albert Einstein, Martin Luther King Jr., Elie Weisel, John Stuart Mill, Jordan Peterson, Matt Langdon, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, and many more — argue that the primary source of evil is the latter.
It’s the ordinary evil that is in us all when we commit “smaller” acts of arrogance, resentment, and indifference.
A smaller act by one person may not seem like a big deal. But that same tiny amount of evil repeated 10 times by that individual, or collectively from 10 or 100 people, may cause massive harm.
Take, for example, historian Christopher Browning’s case study of Reserve Police Battalion 101 during the Holocaust. The men of the unit were not hardcore Nazis; but rather ordinary, working-class, middle-aged men. Almost all of them were horrified and disgusted by the war and their tasks. Some even refused to participate. Yet their collective individual actions (and inactions) added up to 83,200 dead Jewish people.
What Does it Take to NOT be Evil?
The answer is not clear — but all of us can use the following concept as a starting point: You become less evil as you (1) avoid causing direct harm to those close to you in your everyday life. While not harming others seems like an obvious principle to live by, it is not necessarily straightforward.
But, does it end there? Is a “good” person that good if she does nothing to help anyone besides herself and her friends? When one absolutely “evil” individual does something horrible in front of 999 “good” people — who may even directly or indirectly contribute — isn’t everyone involved?
So, NOT being evil also entails (2) saving strangers from harm done to them by others. While the course of action you take here certainly matters, in the end, taking any action is what matters most.
As we have learned, many geniuses argue that the most horrible evils are built up from small indifferences. But the very moment you take action to help others is a moment you break from being a bystander. The act itself, even if imperfect, by definition means that you are not indifferent.
Thus, the most essential way to not be evil is to hold yourself accountable for taking such positive actions regularly. It may not be easy to do them at every moment. What’s important is to do them consistently.
Conclusion (Smaller Acts of Good)
Are you good, or are you evil? The question is too binary. Instead, we need an incrementalist approach. We all have the potential within us to be either. Moment-by-moment, we gravitate toward one or the other. In these moments lie our power.
We have determined two necessary steps that we must take in these moments — to ensure that we gravitate more toward our greater instincts for good:
- Avoid causing direct harm to those close to you.
- Save strangers from harm done to them from others.
And just as small indifferences build massive harm; small positive actions build enormous relief and joy.
Take Stanislav Petrov who prevented all-out nuclear war simply by being ready and willing to disobey an order. Or, Dr. Hopkins who transformed the discrimination he experienced as a youth into curing 3.5 million people from Guinea worm disease. What about Danielle Gletow? She adopted a baby and then created a foundation that has granted the personal wishes of 40,000 foster children. Mike Stura has saved 2,000 farm animals from abuse and neglect. And Donald Carson mentors youth; and once saved an unconscious woman from a burning car seconds before it exploded in flames.
These individuals committed simply to small positive actions, with impressive results.
The collective, decisive actions of such individuals add up to create historic, positive trends.
Donald says, “It feels good. It actually feels like – wow – you’re doing something amazing out here, and you’re making a difference in somebody’s life.”
What action will you take at this moment to make a difference in somebody’s life? Comment below.
For proven actions — and much more:
It was so-called “good” people and “normal” people and “nice” people that allowed the Holocaust to happen—and in many cases, even facilitated it. We must all realize… that it was people like us who murdered the Jews, and it is essential that we understand why that happened, and how that happened…
Jonathon Van Maren
Not knowing history allows us to delude ourselves into thinking that we are good people who might have done great and courageous things had we been given the chance, while often avoiding any opportunity to do anything good or self-sacrificial now.
Often injustice lies in what you aren’t doing, not only in what you are doing.
Marcus Aurelius