The Nature of Evil

What, exactly, is "evil"? It has been described in more ways than can be possibly imagined, but it always comes down to one thing, really. Most people say that it's the opposite of good, but in order to define evil, then, we must define first what "good" is! In the common vernacular "good" is taken to mean putting others before yourself, helping others, giving to charity, etc, etc, etc. Therefore, evil, the opposite of this, must mean looking out for only yourself, being self-centered, etc, yes?

But I think we can agree that the common definition of good is also a wrong one.

Take, for example, the idea of charity, putting others before yourself and expecting nothing in return. This, my friends, is called a myth. True charity has never, and never will, exist. People always have ulterior motives, whether its fame, PR, personal satisfaction, the favor of some divine being, or just outright making yourself feel better for living well. If there wasn't something to be gained by doing the action, you wouldn't do it. It's that simple. The same rule applies to the basic idea of "good", putting others, the whole, before yourself, the unit. But the unit wouldn't support the whole if he had nothing to gain from it. Therefore, this idea of "good people" or "good for the sake of being good" is a fallacy.

Now let us look at "evil", defined as being self-centered and selfish. Is it not human nature for someone to look out for themselves? It's an evolutionary imperative! It is not my job to take care of others, it is my job to take care of myself. The only reason why you should tolerate fools is because they are useful. Like it or not, we have to keep the morons around to flip the burgers and dig the trenches. They breed like rabbits, so their mortality rate shouldn't be a problem. Just let them run free, keep them out of your business, and everyone will be a lot better off.

Perhaps Nietzsche had a point in developing the idea of a slave/master morality. Because from where I'm sitting, it seems that it has worked so far. The common masses are still held docile out of either fear or apathy, and the government is allowed to run free, send them off to pointless wars, kill their jobs and give it back again, all of that. The haves are living well, while the have-nots suffer, and frankly, I don't see anything wrong with that. If they want to climb out of their squallor, let them educate themselves, stop pickling themselves with undistilled ethanol, and killing themselves. Tell them to pick up a dammed book. And don't coddle them, please.

With love,
Grimm