It’s become almost a mantra these days to believe that anyone, given the right circumstances, is capable of committing evil acts. After all, look at the experiments of Milgram and Zimbardo. In the light of this, it’s interesting to come across this article in The Psychologist that questions that view of "the banality of evil". The traditional view is that:
…psychologists and historians have agreed that ordinary people commit evil when, under the influence of leaders and groups, they become blind to the consequences of their actions. This consensus has become so strong that it is repeated, almost as a mantra, in psychology textbooks and in society at large.
But the alternative view might be:
People do great wrong, not because they are unaware of what they are doing but because they consider it to be right. This is possible because they actively identify with groups whose ideology justifies and condones the oppression and destruction of others.
As the authors say, this raises a whole set of new questions that perhaps should be pursued.
Geoff Coupe's Blog 
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