Why Do People Do What They Do?

It seems that one of the great mysteries of modern life is why people who are committed to doing good turn out to do bad. Why to the following terrible events happen?

1. Priests who are committed to celibacy and the care of young boys scar them for life by homosexual pedophilia?
2. Policemen pledged to protect society from harm shoot innocent unarmed people and beat up those they arrest even when there is no resistance?
3. Soldiers sent to protect civilian populations attack, rape and murder?
4. Firemen dedicated to fighting fires turn out to be arsonists?

These are complex questions, difficult to answer, defying all logic. But let’s try approaching the issue in another way, by looking at what it is that people want from life. What sort of occupation would appeal to someone who:

1. Is a homosexual pedophile and wants unlimited access to young boys?
2. Wants the prestige of a uniform and likes the respect that a gun commands?
3. Has a violent disposition and fantasizes about attacking and killing people?
4. Is fascinated by fire?

The list could be expanded, but the conclusion is clear – people seek the kind of  job that lets them do what they want to do. The fact that they have to lie about their reasons is not an obstacle for most of them.

Of course this is not a novel insight. Stendhal explored it in Le Rouge et le Noir, about two brothers who entered the military and the priesthood, one committed to waging war and the other a man of peace. Their choices seem contradictory, but both achieved prestige and power. There are many other stories, both fictional and real, of brothers or close friends who go into opposite lines of work, such as one becoming a policeman and the other a gangster.

So ultimately the solution is simple – people do what they want to do.

Address all correspondence to the editor, william@silvert.org. As for copyright, who would steal a simple idea? Just be sure to acknowledge the source.