The problem with evil

A couple weeks ago I saw a two hour documentary on Canadian General Roméo Dallaire. He was head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Rhwanda in 1993. He recently wrote a book called, "shake hands with the devil."

It was very moving to see General Dallaire's plight as he was one of the only units to remain after the genocide began. Personally it has taken him years to recover from the guilt (feeling as though he could have done more), the depression (sheer volume of destruction of life he saw) and heartache.

Then last week I read an article (with the same title as mine above) from the Ted Conference. You can see the article in it's entirety here. Cited in the article are a couple of studies from Stanley Milgram and Phil Zimbardo, both on the concept of authority. Basically, the premise is that we are all capable of evil and lots of it given the right circumstances. Here are a couple highlights; (read the article)

seven social processes that grease the slippery slope of evil:

mindlessly taking the first small step
dehumanization of others
de-individualization of self (anonymity)
diffusion of personal responsibility
blind obedience to authority
uncritical conformity to group norms
passive tolerance of evil through inaction or indifference
and that particularly in new or unfamiliar situations

Power without oversight is prescription for abuse.