The harm that comes from the good
If only we could see in advance all the harm that can come from the good we think we are doing.
Luigi Pirandello
How is it that people can be so cruel and evil? We hear of atrocities committed by others and count ourselves fortunate that we are nothing like them and we wonder how a person could ever stoop to such malevolence. We assume that these evil-doers had traumatic childhoods under the most terrible circumstances. Perhaps they lack some brain connection or chemical that would enable their psychopathy. This is our attempt to distance ourselves completely. This is no man, this is a monster and more importantly, a monster that is completely different from me.
Surely there are cases of truly psychopathic people who gain pleasure from inflicting suffering but these are the outlier cases. Perhaps more disturbing is the all too common habit that so-called regular people have of joyfully inflicting pain on others in the name of that which is good. There is little we can do with psychopaths beyond locking them up. The psychopathic tendencies of the average person, on the other hand, can cause suffering at scale and we must do something to stop it.
The worst thing about suffering that is caused by someone’s “good will” is that it will never end. It is from their “helping” that they derive a sense of meaning and virtue. They benefit from an increase in status for their goodness, even when it comes at a cost.
C.S. Lewis put it this way:
“Of all tyrannies, a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent moral busybodies. The robber baron's cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.”
Whether it is political, ideological, moral, or religious some people will be so sure of the virtue of their actions and their moral courage that hurting you for the righteous cause will give them resolve and confidence, not the usual shame or bashfulness that would usually come with transgressive acts.
Yes, I might be harsh on you but it is for your own good or at least the good of the herd. My persecution of you, my judgment, my retaliation, is all in the name of that which is good and so I can stand by my actions with my head high and my virtue in tact.
Of course when I mistreat you in the name of goodness, you and yours are likely to feel justified in your retaliation against me and mine. And now we have reciprocal mob justice and an unending chain of violence and hatred.
This is the psychology of tribalism and vendetta. It leads to extinction.
Dale Renlund preached the virtue of not just refraining from throwing stones but in becoming a stone catcher. While we all should defend that which we believe to be true and good, we must also caution that we do not become the monsters against which we fight and oppose.
We could all stand to reflect on how and when our morals could be taken to an extreme and manipulated for the evil purposes. Love can become overbearing, enabling, and smothering. Work ethic and lead to workaholism, neglect, and burnout.
The only difference between medicine and poison is dosage; so it is with virtues.
Don’t let your good be warped into an excuse to hurt others.