Evil is in human nature

The idea that there are evil or equivalently negative sentiments deep in the very nature of humankind is very peculiar in light of a very single fact: we are thriving, becoming wiser and wealthier. While billions of humans still live in terrible conditions, the condition is improving for most humans, unequivocally thanks to the immense progress of science in the past decades. Any species that fundamentally inhabits evil sentiments would be very unlikely to achieve even a fraction of that greatness, as its very nature would prohibit it from cooperating and develop its understanding.

Despite strong media hype, terrorism is but a shadow of the evils that threatened humankind with total destruction. The notion that a group of improvised soldiers are more threatening than the military forces that destroyed and enslaved so many societies is ridiculous. Comparing Islamic terrorists with fascists, the term islamofacist being a favourite of American right-wingers, is shameful and offensive in many more ways than Howard Stern may ever achieve.

Hitler, Mussolini, Franco and so many others who enslaved entire nations had armies, air forces, naval forces and highly trained killing machines. That the forces of large-scale destructions, from the Roman Empire, European kingdoms and the many military dictatorships of the 20th century be compared with psychopathic, untrained fools is unacceptable. The dedication of these soldiers of god is often cited as their unshakable resolve, and hence the terrible danger they represent. Yet most police officers, medical workers and other first responders would show the very same resolve if they were faced with the power to intervene. Terrorists remain delusional brainwashed youth, no matter how much damage they can create. They are mere dust compared to the millions of deaths from the many avoidable causes that still lack proper funding, from pollution, cancer, AIDS to illegal arms trade and the $1 trillion criminal market created by drug prohibition.

Dark sentiments cross the mind of almost every human being throughout his life. But the vast majority of our consciousness is dedicated to constructive sentiments. Those sentiments have resulted in the kind devotion of parenthood, social skills that encourage sharing and severely punish those so-called evil sentiments. Greed, bad temper and physical abuse, among many negative individual treats, are suppressed by our much more powerful empathetic, one might say "good", sentiments, which are almost universal among all cultures that exist to this day. Cultures that promoted violent or otherwise psychopathic behaviour have collapsed.

Empathy is the moral guiding force on which all imagined systems of beliefs rely on. It is our ability to understand how others think and feel that allows us to understand that it is equally important to preserve in ourselves as it is in every other being we can apply those principles on. The petty excuses of our violent history are mere passages in textbooks read only by a few interested in their meaning. It is cowardice that pushes people to reject the responsibility of freedom and fuels excuses that do not stand to scrutiny. War and peace are only differentiated by the ability of those in power to understand the driving force of the human species. Those who went against this force, the dictators of our authoritarian institutions, are only remembered by a few, despised by most.

All the great political and religious conquerors of history, those who shared egomaniacal personalities, barely have any impact on our modern civilization, much less than any of the great inventors that created the modern economy, without which justice and morality are but an eyesight away from total impunity. By modern standards, most of the "great" individuals of history would be considered psychopaths and would be socially rejected. There are still many people behaving similarly to history's egomaniacal leaders. But we now more often see them in padded rooms or shouting on the sidewalk than in a position of authority. That is because modern science has allowed us to create an economic order that rejects such egomaniacal behaviours from most of its institutions.

There is one policy that can forever solve the problem of terrorism. It is decades long but absolutely flawless: improving the life of all humankind. This feat can, and will, only be achieved by science and as such our technological progress needs a much steadier course. There is no call to jihad, or any delusional sacrifice, that can compete with freedom and a high quality of life. The beauty of science is that with the proper governing body and funding, it will mostly be taken care of by itself. All that is needed is political commitment, funding and a strict separation from politics. A contribution based on a flat percentage of the GDP would be simple to manage and fair.

Science is by far the professional body most dedicated to improving human life, as it has no meaning with such results. Science has so far saved far more lives in the few decades of its modern age than all the demagogues of the past. It is the single most lucrative investment from an economic perspective and the single most effective policy towards freedom, justice and democracy.