Political or social groups wanting to commit mass murder on the basis of racial, ethnic or religious differences are never hindered by a lack of willing executioners. In this book, social psychologist James Waller uncovers the internal and external factors that can lead ordinary people to commit extraordinary acts of evil. Waller debunks the common explanations for genocide--group think, psychopathology, unique cultures--and offers what he believes is a more sophisticated and comprehensive psychological view of how anyone can potentially participate in heinous crimes against humanity. He outlines the evolutionary forces that shape human nature, the individual dispositions that are more likely to engage in acts of evil, and the context of cruelty in which these extraordinary acts can emerge. Illustrative eyewitness accounts are presented at the end of each chapter
Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-309) and index
pt. 1. What are the origins of extraordinary human evil? -- A place called Mauthausen -- The nature of extraordinary human evil -- "Nits make lice" -- Killers of conviction: groups, ideology, and extraordinary evil -- Dovey's story -- The "mad Nazi": psychopathology, personality, and extraordinary evil -- The massacre at Babi Yar -- The dead end of demonization -- The invasion of Dili -- pt. 2. Beyond demonization: how ordinary people commit extraordinary evil -- A model of extraordinary human evil -- What is the nature of human nature? Our ancestral shadow -- The Tonle Sap massacre -- Who are the killers? Identities of the perpetrators -- Death of a Guatemalan village -- What is the immediate social context? A culture of cruelty -- The church of Ntamara -- Who is the "other"? Social death of the victims -- The "safe area" of Srebrenica -- pt. 3. What have we learned and why does it matter? -- Can we be delivered from extraordinary evil?
Open Library