Eichmann in Jerusalem
Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil is a 1963 book by political theorist Hannah Arendt. Arendt, a Jew who fled Germany during Adolf Hitler's rise to power, reported on Adolf Eichmann's trial for The New Yorker. A revised and enlarged edition was published in 1964.
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- You should read up on the banality of evil: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eichmann_in_Jerusalem
Regular people, not sociopaths, are responsible for most of the evil in the world. There is no tiny minority of 'evildoers' that we could root out and be pure from.
Other bad things happen because of unintended consequences or the collective behavior of many people. Climate change or deforestation are not caused by greed or scheming CEOs; it's a side effect from the actions of billions of people individually trying to better their lives.
- Hannah Arendt wrote the fantastic "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil" about exactly this observation. That one of the principal enablers of the Holocaust seemed obsessed, not with the effects or outcomes of murdering Jews, but simply the expediency of doing it.
If you're interested in the subject I can very much recommend reading it. I can also recommend "The Ethic of Expediency" which deals with the same subject, but attempts to indict all technical writing instead. I personally changed my writing style after reading it to inject more humanity into it.
- There's this book Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil by Hannah Arendt that explores the topic.
- There's some complaints about this book not being out, but Arendt's book has been out since 1963 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eichmann_in_Jerusalem#Banality... and is highly regarded reading on this subject.
- For me the much more relevant name in the list is Hannah Arendt, the author of "The Origins of Totalitarianism" as well as "Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on the Banality of Evil " in which she coined the now famous term.
Thanks for posting this.
edit: I cant come up with any other one person more likely to be an authoritative source on this topic, but i would love alternative suggestions.
- The article is indeed amusing, but it needs a closing statement as much as Schindler's List needed that coda. However, anyone who wishes to delve deeper into the dangers of stupidity should read 'Eichmann in Jerusalem' by Hannah Arendt.
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