Why Good People Do Evil Things

And why we should resist the urge to conform

In today’s world, understanding why good people commit evil acts is more crucial than ever. I briefly touched on Daniel Schmachtenberger’s metacrisis from a psychological perspective, but I have yet to explore the individual level — the social aspect of why seemingly ordinary people could commit heinous crimes. History, news, and even in our own personal lives provide ample examples of this, yet we often fail to apply the critical thinking necessary to judge these matters. We see instances of cruelty, injustice, and indifference all around us, but the complexity of these situations often overwhelms our ability to analyse them deeply and understand the underlying causes.

Why is it so easy for many of us to turn a blind eye to the suffering we witness daily? Here are some reasons, illustrated by key social experiments.

The Milgram Experiment (1961)

“You have no other choice; you must go on” — image credit to Sprouts School

Milgram was interested in researching how far people would go in obeying an instruction if it involves harming another person. The experiment demonstrated that people would administer electric shocks to a stranger when instructed by an authority figure, even when it caused apparent distress to the point that some participants believed it was killing the person on the other side (the person being shocked was, in fact, an actor). This revealed the powerful influence of authority on human behaviour and how easily people could be led to commit acts they would normally find disgraceful.

The Asch Conformity Experiment (1951)

Asch wanted to see if the real participant would conform to the majority view, even when the answer was clearly wrong. Series of experiments were conducted with one participant being placed in a room full of actors, and was asked to identify which line was longer, out of the three comparison lines. About 75% of participants conformed to the incorrect majority opinion at least once. This tendency to conform highlights the social pressures that can lead individuals to act against their own moral judgements.

The Stanford Prison Experiment (1971)

Prisoners line up at Stanford Prison Experiment — image credit to Wikipedia

Zimbardo wanted to examine the psychological effects of authority and powerlessness within a prison environment. Participants were randomly assigned to being prisoners or prison guards. A simulated prison was set up, along a single corridor in the basement of Stanford University’s psychology building, and intended to measure the effect of role-playing, labelling, and social expectations on behaviour over a period of two weeks. However, the experiment was cancelled on the sixth day when the mistreatment of prisoners escalated at an alarming rate. This demonstrates the impact of situational factors and perceived authority has on toxic behaviour. We recently saw similar phenomenon with the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse which came to public attention in 2004.

The Bystander Effect and Kitty Genovese Case (1964)

Kitty Genovese was brutally assaulted and murdered in Queens, New York just outside her apartment building while 38 witnesses reportedly watched and none came to her rescue. Her murder brought attention to the bystander effect, where individuals do not offer help in an emergency, often assuming someone else will take action. This diffusion in responsibility in groups can lead to inaction and moral indifference.

Humans Are Conformist

These examples illustrate a fundamental truth — humans are conformists. We are social creatures dictated by fear and the need for acceptance. Group dynamics can dramatically alter our behaviour, making us capable of actions we would not consider alone. Our innate desire to fit in, coupled with the fear of standing out or facing repercussions, often leads us to conform to the majority, even when it goes against our ethical beliefs.

Why It Matters More Than Ever

The world we live in today is vastly different from what we once believed it to be. There has been a decline in institutional integrity worldwide, exacerbated by the rise in media coverage of corporate greed and misconduct toward public health. We are constantly being bombarded with examples of how big corporations prioritise short-term gains (aka shareholders profits) over the well-being of people and the planet.

Consider the use of pesticides. While certain harmful pesticides have been banned in the US, they continue to be used in countries like Mexico. Produce grown with these banned substances is then shipped back to the US, effectively circumventing regulations meant to protect public health.

Or that our food supply is increasingly stripped of essential micronutrients due to industrial farming practices such as the use NPK fertiliser to maximise yield rather than nutritional quality. The overuse of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides has depleted soil health, leading to crops that lack the vitamins and minerals necessary for human health. Imagine a junk-food lover suffering from obesity, while at the same time, being malnourished. This degradation of our food quality is a direct result of short-sighted agricultural practices driven by corporate interests.

The widespread realisation that big corporation, oftentimes, don’t have our best interests at heart has eroded public trust. Scandals involving environmental pollution, like the continued use of toxic chemicals, and unethical business practices, like the manipulation of financial markets, have shown that corporate greed often takes precedence over ethical consideration.

Tragedy of the Commons

Image credit to Jono Hey at Sketchplanations

This term was used for the first time by ecologist Garrett Hardin in a 1968 Science Magazine. The theory describes a situation where individuals, acting in their own self-interest, deplete shared resources, leading to long-term collective ruin. Imagine the use of common grazing lands where each herder benefits individually from adding more livestock, but the cost of overgrazing is shared by all. Without regulation or mutual agreement, the commons become overused and ultimately degraded. We are seeing this with the overexploitation of natural resources, such as deforestation and overfishing, that have contributed to climate change and biodiversity loss.

Here are some mind-blowing facts;

• Dead zones in our oceans — dead zones are areas of water where aquatic life cannot survive because of low oxygen level, caused by significant nutrient pollution from urban and agricultural runoff. The number of dead zones has more than doubled every decade since the 1960s. Currently, there are over 400 dead zones globally.

• Only 4% of all mammals in the world are in the wild, whereas 95% are in factory farms. The vast majority of mammals living in factory farms raises questions about humanity’s responsibility towards other sentient beings and the moral implications of industrial-scale animal farming.

Conclusion

Given all this, we cannot remain unaware of the harmful consequences of poor decisions made by those in power. The listed social experiments I mentioned earlier reveal how easily individuals can succumb to obedience and conformity. We must actively resist this tendency and hold ourselves and others to higher standards.

“The standard you walk past is the standard you accept.” — Lieutenant General David Morrison

The world’s problems persist not due to a lack of solutions but because addressing them often conflicts with short-term economic gains. While policies and regulations exist, corporate systems are prone to corruption, allowing individuals to exploit these structures. A corrupt person will always find ways to manipulate any system, making the real check and balance lie within the people themselves.

Being an active participant means continuously learning about our world. Don’t accept things at face value; critically evaluate what values are most important to you and resist social pressures that can potentially lead you away from them. The mind is powerful, and making conscious choices is more impactful than we often realise. By embracing critical thinking, maintaining our integrity, and questioning authority (as and when it’s necessary!), we can contribute to a more ethical and sustainable future.

It takes all of our collective effort to turn the tide against conformity and corruption, making the world a better place for everyone.

This week, I would like to share a metacrisis discussion that I was invited to be a part of.

Thank you Radius of Reason for having me! If you enjoy this type of conversation, please don’t forget to subscribe to their channel.

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• Decoding Daniel Schmachtenberger on “The Metacrisis of the AI Era” explores a conversation about the psychological drivers behind modern despair. What is problematic in the world right now and how most of the challenges we face rooted in human action and decisions.

• How Our Feelings Shape Our World touches on why understanding our own emotions is the path to understanding others. The key isn’t to suppress your emotions, it’s to embrace and regulate. Emotions are your tools, learn to “listen” and understand them.

• The Bright Side of Uncomfortable Feelings looks at the benefits of the more “socially unacceptable” feelings we all have, such as sadness, anger, guilt, and shame. These feelings were once extremely beneficial to our ancestors survival, and maybe we need them after all.

• Why Are We Wounded? explores the science and soul behind our emotional pain and where it originates. Early trauma becomes a core part of our identity. If you don’t know what your trauma is, you haven’t looked hard enough.

• What Are You Really Chasing - Efficiency or Authenticity? covers Byung-Chul Han’s philosophy on the modern struggle between achieving more and connecting deeper. Read to understand how society has conditioned and shaped us.