Table Of Content

The Path to Mass Evil On the Southern border of the United States in 2018, the decision was made to implement a separation policy among refugees and migrant families arriv- ing at the border – and so a group of government employees left their homes, bidding farewell to their families as they went to work, and began to sep- arate hundreds of children from their families, forcefully taking them to holding centres. Developing Hannah Arendt’s analysis of the banality of evil, The Path to Mass Evil demonstrates how the most educated, sophisticated and advanced societies in human history have the potential to descend into profound inhumanity and in the extreme can turn into enormous killing machines, implementing mass murder on a vast scale. Suitable for undergraduates and graduates in philosophy, sociology, psychology and religion, Michael Hardiman reveals how traditional understandings of morality fail to grasp how ordinary citizens become collaborators and engage in a range of levels of evildoing. He also highlights the necessity of confronting this evil in the increasingly divided and antagonistic world in which we find ourselves today. Michael Hardiman Ph.D. works as a psychologist and educator in the West of Ireland where he has over 30 years’ experience in private counselling, train- ing and development, while also presenting seminars and workshops nation- wide to family centres and to adult education services. The Path to Mass Evil Hannah Arendt and Totalitarianism Today Michael Hardiman First published 2023 by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 and by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Taylor & Francis The right of Michael Hardiman to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Hardiman, Michael, author. Title: The path to mass evil : Hannah Arendt’s concepts of banality and ideology today / Michael Hardiman. Description: New York, NY : Routledge, 2022. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2021059448 | ISBN 9781032107103 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032107097 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003216674 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: Arendt, Hannah, 1906-1975. | Good and evil. | Banality (Philosophy) | Ideology. | Violence. | Collective behavior. Classification: LCC B945.A694 H375 2022 | DDC 170--dc23/eng/20220304 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021059448 ISBN: 978-1-032-10710-3 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-10709-7 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-21667-4 (ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9781003216674 Typeset in Garamond by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd. To David, Sarah and Rose Contents Acknowledgements viii 1 Philosophical Approaches to the Problem of Evil: An Historical Overview 1 2 The Banality of Evil 19 3 Banality and the Masses 47 4 Ideology, Totalitarianism and Mass Evil 79 5 Pernicious Ideologies 94 6 Totalising Ideology and Religion 122 7 The Fusion of Ideology with Banality 151 8 The Murderous Alphabet 178 9 Combating Mass Evil: Arendt’s Legacy Today 201 Index 227 Acknowledgements Two people who are no longer with us contributed greatly to my intellectual formation. The first is Professor Martin McHugh, Psychology Department at National University of Ireland, Galway. A gentle and erudite scholar, he recog- nised in me something I did not see and helped it along. The second is Dr Bruno Mulcahy Ph.D. who became a fast friend after he surgically dismantled some of my writing and helped me learn something of the art. The specifics of the book itself were greatly helped by Professor Felix O’Murchadha, Department of Philosophy at National University of Ireland, Galway. His depth of knowl- edge, and his consistent support were invaluable throughout. Professor Peg Birmingham, Professor of Philosophy at DePaul University, Indiana, played no small part in encouraging me to complete the work. Writing a book on the subject of human evil always runs the risk of leav- ing one’s consciousness strained by the encounter with so much darkness. In addition to the constant restorative of the love of my children, David, Sarah and Rose, my friends Jimmy Brick, Eugene and Deirdre Greaney and the easy company of my sisters Anna Marie, Bernadette and Rachel have lightened the journey with their warmth, patience and capacity for joy. Thank you. It can happen, and it can happen everywhere…it is not very probable that all the factors that unleashed the Nazi madness will again occur simul- taneously but precursory signs loom before us…. It only awaits its new buffoon (there is no dearth of candidates) to organise it, legalise it, declare it necessary and mandatory and so contaminate the world. Few countries can be considered immune to a future tide of violence generated by intoler- ance, lust for power, economic difficulties, religious or political fanaticism, and racialist attritions. Primo Levi