Evil in society is easy to identify and label. All one has to do is observe how people interact with each other in group settings. One of the deepest, most critical human drives is to belong, to be a popular, esteemed part of a group.
Power in the group is a shared power dynamic. To hustle and win at this social game to gather as much power, popularity, rank, and prestige to oneself, each groupist can compete viciously, ruthlessly, and the social scientist could easily conclude that he is selfish, and that being a self-centered individual is the source of unnecessary human suffering and injustice on earth, and he would not be totally wrong with this superficial, mostly erroneous conclusion.
When one looks more deeply and from a bird’s eye view at the dog-eat-dog fight and struggle each day to gain and keep or extend one’s clout in the groupist circle, something alarming and unexpected is delineated.
As these ostensibly selfish climbers vie for ever-increasing rank in the social pecking order, they can abuse, boss around, and within expected norms, sadistically inflict needless suffering upon their subordinate, who, though disliking pain and humiliation, masochistically tolerate the prolonged abuse.
These abused underlings then dump on those below them, and, as is said in the vernacular, shit rolls downhill.
The rather successful sadists and unjust abusers, who have some middling rank in the corporate hierarchy, are abused, and bullied and pushed around by those above them in rank and popularity, and they must meekly and masochistically tolerate being slapped around by their betters, though they do not enjoy this pain and humiliation.
All are selfish: they kiss ass above and kick ass below, and do not protest about changing this corrupt, unjust social arrangement for fear of being expelled and alone, cast out into the cold darkness, a dreaded social fate worse than death.
All refuse to show courage and strength and work to end this abusive system which hurts all and benefits none. Are these people selfish? In a way, yes.
Is their self-destructive personal acceptance of this social mess, and their collective acceptance of and submission to this rotten system a sign of self-interest, especially enlightened self-interest?
No, it definitely is not. No one’s enlightened self-interest is met, let alone anyone’s enlightened collective interest.
All members of the group and of the collectivized society are conspiring to hold each other down and back, and to inflicting pain upon each other generation after generation?
If evil is hatred, violence, destroying, hurting needlessly, and hurting the self and others by producing unnecessary suffering and pain through the choices and actions elected by the self and by others, then typical social behavior in everyday society is evil in action observable and right under our noses everywhere.
All the joiners that suffer needlessly in their complex patterns of sadism towards social inferiors, and masochism towards cruel, sadistic superiors seem to me to be strong evidence that these people are selfless and self-sacrificing more than being selfish and pursuing their own pleasure. Their personal and collective moral motive is altruism-collectivism, and this moral motive generates much unhappiness, needless pain and discomfort in short, mortal lives.
Is there not a better way to go forward? I propose egoism-individualism as each person’s private and collective moral motive and moral system, under which each individual chases after his own, enlightened self-interest. His self-interest is not narcissistic or hedonistic or self-delusional.
Instead, he is a stern self-task master, self-disciplining himself to self-realize his talents and consciousness to the best of his rational and talented abilities, for a lifetime and this is pleasing to the Good Spirits and the good deities.
He seeks to love God, love himself and through loving himself, thus limiting evil in his soul, he then is best able to love, serve and coexist peacefully, legally, and cooperatively with others.
His golden rule is that he abuses none and allows none to abuse him. He lives his living-angel adventure as an exceptional person, but one among millions of such peers who enjoy their liberty, power, independence, property, and wealth while trading with others, without depriving them of their wealth or power, or allowing them to deprive him of his liberty, wealth, or power.
He is the equal to everyone and the better than no one. Rough social and legal equality is the social and legal law of his land.
This morality of rational egoism is the future.
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