What are the criteria for an action to be considered evil? Can you categorize behavior as evil, and if so, how?
This question is in contrast to last week’s question, “What makes an action good?”
Many of the same issues arise with evil actions as did with good ones. You might, for instance, decide an action is evil if it harms people. However, what if there was no intention to harm people at all, but it was an inadvertent outcome? Do intentions matter at all, or is it only the impact that counts?
Perhaps an action is chosen specifically to to help people you care about. This would seem good, but it helps at the expense of people you don’t know or don’t care about. Does that constitute evil? If you are forced to prioritize between some inside your “in” group or out of it, inside wins nearly every time.
Consider the reverse of last week’s conclusion: Think about the decisions or actions you are most ashamed of, that you feel were made in haste or in error. Do those decisions have something in common? Do evil actions share some traits or properties?
Related questions: What is your definition of evil? Why do we hate? Is it a cruel world? What gives a person value?
The nature of what defines an evil action is more complex than that of a good action. First, malicious harm inflicted by an individual (e.g., murder or physical, emotional, or verbal abuse) is undoubtedly evil. Second, according to many religions, an evil act is anything that causes suffering to another. And third, a quote often misattributed to the political philosopher Edmund Burke states, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” So, is intentional apathy or inaction considered evil? I’d say yes.
However, I want to emphasize how both collective action and inaction contribute to the creation of evil. In particular, I want to address the type of evil that arises from what constitutes a “healthy” American economy—what you might call systemic evil. Two requirements for a thriving American economy are: (1) there must be continual growth—increased consumption, and (2) there are winners and losers within our economy.
What evil comes from our shared roles as excessive consumers? America uses 25% of the world’s resources, yet we only make up 5% of the population. We see need across the globe, with starvation being the most glaring example. And still, a constant refrain from Americans of various political views criticizes foreign aid. The unequal distribution of resources worldwide is a systemic evil.
Maldistribution also exists within the U.S. economy. Our system does not function unless a certain percentage of people are unemployed, alongside a larger number who have stopped looking for work altogether. This results in an underclass suffering from various issues (e.g., hunger, toxic poverty, which impacts brain development, and shortened lifespans). This is also an evil that could be addressed. Unlike global maldistribution, assistance to the poor can actually help communities thrive; when cash assistance is provided to extremely low-income individuals, they tend to spend it in the local economy, which then flourishes due to an influx of new resources. Still, we often convince ourselves that most poverty exists because people choose not to work. Consequently, the political will to eradicate this collective evil is not created.