Evil in a Box: A Perspective

Reflections on the Classic Song from Oliver Twist

One of the memorable songs from the classic movie Oliver Twist, "Who Will Buy?" paints a beautiful picture of capturing a wonderful morning in a box to keep as a treasure for a lifetime. As a child, the concept of preserving beauty in a box for leisurely viewing was fascinating. However, with time, it became clear that the constant change in life makes this impossible.

Beauty, Ugliness, and Evil

Beauty, in my opinion, is the most accessible element of "the Good" in this world. This led me to ponder if the law of constant change that applies to beauty also applies to ugliness and evil. The ideas and tropes circulating in our civic spaces suggest that ugliness and evil are stable categories and that once an individual is assigned to the latter, it is for life. This implies that the only thing a reasonable and "good" person can or should do is to locate that evil and fight against it.

The Problem with Boxing Evil

The issue arises when we put a particular case of evil "in a box" to examine at our leisure. By doing so, we compromise our ability to examine our own propensity for evil. If we have evil in a box at a safe distance, why bother with the difficult process of moral introspection? It's much easier to join in the excitement of "going after the bad guys."

The Role of Elites

Having a population conditioned to see evil only in neatly wrapped boxes is beneficial to our often unscrupulous elites. They heavily influence how we spend our collective energies through their control of our cultural institutions. People who are taught to conduct regular inventories of their moral behavior are less inclined to "cast the first stone" and heed the calls to "go after" those portrayed as unworthy of compassion.

Imperial Projects and Psychic Splitting

Elite culture-planning efforts designed to induce psychic splitting within entire populations are not new. It is part of the life cycle of all empires, and if left unchecked, it can lead to societal collapse. Imperial projects arise when the elites of a population generate cultural innovations that lead to a strong esprit de corps within that culture, and a collective desire to exercise dominion over potential rivals.

The Limits of Demonization

Unfortunately for the elites, the game of enhancing their power through the cartoonish demonization of others has its limits. As the ability of imperial projects to "deliver the goods" to the rank-and-file of the home country inevitably founders, unrest grows among the population. The elites then direct the great "othering machine" at these disgruntled masses, confident that they can cow them back into silence and submission.

The Power of Suffering and Hopelessness

What these elites fail to understand is that suffering and hopelessness have an amazing ability to focus the human mind on the present. In such a context, tales of far-off bad people lose much of their anesthetizing magic. These suffering people cannot now unsee the disdain that the elites have shown for their humanity and dignity. While we do not know what will ultimately result from their expressions of anger and disaffection, we know that most of them will never again let themselves be drawn to conceptualizing evil as something that exists in a box in far-off places.

Bottom Line

Evil, while it may manifest itself more egregiously in certain places and historical moments, ultimately resides in all cultures and places. Propaganda campaigns run during moments of prosperity can often mask this fact, but they cannot make it go away. What are your thoughts on this perspective? Share this article with your friends and sign up for the Daily Briefing, which is everyday at 6pm.