Etymologically, evil means everything which is not good: wars, diseases, misfortune, crime, mistreatment, abuses, shortcomings, disabilities, irresponsibility, inconsistency, disloyalty, immorality… ugliness and poverty. You name it. For example, “pretty” is good and “ugly” is evil (but, in truth, pretty people can be evil and ugly people can be good).

When we are little, we are told that there is Good and Evil in the world. Children’s stories are filled with battles where Evil tries to dominate the world, but Good always prevails, even when all seems lost. Good doesn’t want to dominate, only Evil does. Good doesn’t want to fight, it only does it to stop Evil. As we grow up, the stories become reality and the metaphors we’ve learned help us navigate the world. Supposedly, we should aim to do Good and fight Evil whenever we encounter it. However, Evil is smart and seductive and we end up joining the Dark Side most of the time.

Here’s where Evil sometimes takes you to the Dark Side: when it becomes righteous. In the name of Good, people become Evil. Wars are a great example, especially wars in the name of God or, most ironic, in the name of peace. Censorship is another great example: to promote morality and good behaviour, one takes away everyone’s freedoms. The feeling of being superior to others, for whatever reason (race, wealth, high morality, religion, being older, being prettier, being more competitive, being more successful, being smarter…), leads people to belittle others, to dehumanize, to be cruel.

There are many theories and philosophies, stories and points of views, rational justifications and religious beliefs about what is evil and what is good. Some say good can be evil and that evil can sometimes be necessary in order to do good. The concept of “Realpolitik” emerged as a way to explain why sometimes governments pursue “evil things”. It kind of justifies the doing of “necessary evils”, stating that governments have to do what they have to do regardless of ideals, what is right, or the values defended by them.

Basically, the concept of what is evil and what it is not revolves around power. So, to maintain power (“dominance”), people might “have to” resort to Evil. This is not just true to governments, it also applies to individuals. People can become cruel not only to retain power, but also to comply with the norm, especially in institutionalized environments. The “herd mentality” and the crowd psychology demonstrate and study how people can be led to behave in a certain way. Obviously, in the latter, if the behaviour is Good, then it can be a good influence. The problem is to distinguish what is Good and what is Evil and, most importantly, to avoid be influenced by Evil.

Evil is everywhere, but, then again, so it is Good.