num_pages: 336
description: 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 Becoming Evil , social psychologist James Waller uncovers the internal and external factors that can lead ordinary people tocommit extraordinary acts of evil.Waller debunks the common explanations for genocide- group think, psychopathology, unique cultures- and offers a more sophisticated and comprehensive psychological view of how anyone can potentially participate in heinous crimes against humanity. He outlines the evolutionary forces that shapehuman 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. An important new look at how evil develops, Becoming Evilwill help us understand such tragedies as the Holocaust and recent terrorist events. Waller argues that by becoming more aware of the things that lead to extraordinary evil, we will be less likely to be surprised by it and less likely to be unwitting accomplices through our passivity.
language: English
title: Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing
titlecomplete: Becoming Evil: How Ordinary People Commit Genocide and Mass Killing
genres: History, Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, Holocaust, War, Science, Crime, Nonfiction, Politics
ratings_count: 415
publisher: Oxford University Press