[josephg]

> some people are much more evil (in the sense; more harmful to society) than others and the concentration of evil is higher near the centers of power.

I’d similarly argue that some people are much more good (in the sense that their work actively makes society better). Their concentration is also higher near the centers of power. An awful lot of people go into government out of a genuine love of their country.

[southerntofu]

I understand your point, but strong disagree from experience.

What do you think happens to people who want to do good by approaching positions of power? In my experience, friends who became teachers or cops, they either became evil/abusive themselves, or they were pushed into depression by social exclusion and either left or killed themselves. These are some of the jobs with the highest suicide levels, precisely because some people came to do good while realizing the systems in place made it entirely impossible.

[DanBC]

> These are some of the jobs with the highest suicide levels

What data are you using please?

[southerntofu]

Thanks for asking, made me check. It seems teachers suicide data is not as drastic as hearsay has it, although from anecdata i believe depression is very widespread:

https://blog.francetvinfo.fr/l-instit-humeurs/2019/11/09/cha...

As for the cops, there are a few statistical/sociological studies. I may have exaggerated claiming they are the jobs with the highest suicide levels, but they do have higher suicide level than the general population.

https://www.liberation.fr/checknews/les-policiers-se-suicide...

Anecdotally, what the article doesn't mention is that, at least here in France, it's not uncommon for cops committing suicide to actually kill their wife and children before killing themselves... which i believe is a rather unique feat of their profession, but as there are no official stats on the topic you should take this claim with a grain of salt.

[jongjong]

Sure but in my experience, these people rarely get promoted to positions of power. A lot of the well-meaning people end up as low-level political puppets because they don't see the evil that's happening right before their eyes; the reason is because good people fail to comprehend the motivations behind evil and that makes them blind to it.

There is a lot of denial like "No, that's not possible, such and such would never do such an evil thing, what would they gain out of it?" The fact that you're a good person may be the reason why you do not see the motive or do not understand its significance. Some people really want total control, they want it really really badly. They could be a billionaire, a president and yet their first for more power is stronger than a person lost in the desert thirsts for water.