I don’t understand how it is that evil deeds can be sustained for years without legal institutions or leaders able to undo its proliferation in a short time. How could an evil system of apartheid go on for centuries without a critical mass of former leaders revolting against it? Likewise, on private and public-sector corruption, how could it be that so many good people seem to have been a drop in the ocean to counter the activities of those pursuing graft?

Thanks to John Stuart Mill, said to have originally coined the saying in 1867 that: “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” Paraphrased to its common phrase used today and as attributed to John F Kennedy’s speech among others, it is said “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.”

How are perpetrators of evil able to proliferate their evil unabated for so long? Could it be that there are many in powerful positions agreeing with them, that evil is sustained? Or could it be that many are benefitting directly out of fear of loss of being expelled for standing out against evil, that they choose to turn a blind eye against evil? For the latter, we need a safety net to ensure good guys are protected and their losses minimised. We need a system that ensures promoters of good are protected and more rewarded than perpetrators of evil. By Nimroth Gwetsa, 30 June 2018. Continue reading →