"The worst crimes are not committed by evil degenerates, but by decent and intelligent people taking 'pragmatic' decisions"
About this Quote
Wilson’s jab lands because it refuses the comforting cartoon of the criminal as a snarling outsider. He points the finger at the people societies routinely trust most: the “decent and intelligent,” the ones with credentials, good manners, and plausible reasons. The sting is in the scare quotes around “pragmatic.” He’s exposing pragmatism not as level-headed realism but as a moral solvent, the word we reach for when we want outcomes without owning the human cost.
The intent is less psychological than civic. Wilson is warning that modern harm often arrives through committees, memos, and cost-benefit spreadsheets. “Evil degenerates” commit crimes that read as aberrations; pragmatic decision-makers commit crimes that can be institutionalized, normalized, and repeated. Their decency becomes a shield: they don’t look like villains, so their actions inherit an aura of inevitability. Intelligence, meanwhile, supplies the alibis. Smart people can rationalize anything, especially when the violence is abstracted into policy language or outsourced down a chain of command.
Contextually, Wilson is writing in the long shadow of the 20th century, when bureaucracy and technological efficiency made mass suffering compatible with everyday professionalism. His line echoes the era’s unease that atrocity can be perpetrated by people who go home to their families and believe, sincerely, that they were simply being realistic.
The subtext is a dare: stop hunting monsters and start auditing your own justifications. The most dangerous crimes aren’t fueled by appetite; they’re executed by consensus.
The intent is less psychological than civic. Wilson is warning that modern harm often arrives through committees, memos, and cost-benefit spreadsheets. “Evil degenerates” commit crimes that read as aberrations; pragmatic decision-makers commit crimes that can be institutionalized, normalized, and repeated. Their decency becomes a shield: they don’t look like villains, so their actions inherit an aura of inevitability. Intelligence, meanwhile, supplies the alibis. Smart people can rationalize anything, especially when the violence is abstracted into policy language or outsourced down a chain of command.
Contextually, Wilson is writing in the long shadow of the 20th century, when bureaucracy and technological efficiency made mass suffering compatible with everyday professionalism. His line echoes the era’s unease that atrocity can be perpetrated by people who go home to their families and believe, sincerely, that they were simply being realistic.
The subtext is a dare: stop hunting monsters and start auditing your own justifications. The most dangerous crimes aren’t fueled by appetite; they’re executed by consensus.
Quote Details
| Topic | Ethics & Morality |
|---|
More Quotes by Colin
Add to List
