Complying with Genocide

E.N. Anderson is professor emeritus in the Department of Anthropology at the University of California, Riverside. Barbara A. Anderson is professor emerita at Frontier Nursing University.

Scholars E. N. Anderson and Barbara Anderson explore the concepts of complicity in genocide and the nature of evil. They tackle average people's motivation to participate in mass killing and how they justify these actions. Social pressure, fear, and uncertainty coupled with charismatic leadership can persuade a disenfranchised, angry populace to be complacent or even cooperate with genocide. Average citizens turn toward evil when they accept that a minority does not deserve the same consideration and respect as they themselves do. As Paul Farmer has said, "the idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong in the world." To counter this, the authors propose a stronger emphasis on moral aspects of society, such as equality, empathy, respect, and dedication to peaceful conflict resolution. Individuals should resist social aggression, bullying, and blaming, allowing positive social influences to counter genocidal thinking. As they contend, whether genocide continues or ends depends on how society approaches its problems—whether society employs fear, hatred, and violence or peace, love, and tolerance—demonstrating "the wolf you feed" metaphor. An important work in understanding the sociological underpinning of genocide complicity. Highly recommended.

• Part I. Mass Killing: The Story of ComplicityChapter 1: GenocideChapter 2: War and Mass KillingChapter 3: Conformity and ComplicityPart II. The Roots of Human EvilChapter 4: Human NatureChapter 5: Individual and Cultural VariationChapter 6: The Exclusion of Others Part III. The March of Genocide: Past and PresentChapter 7: The Evolution of Genocide over TimeChapter 8: Present DarknessPart IV. Which Wolf Will We Feed?Chapter 9: Vulnerability to ConformityChapter 10: The Food of the Good Wolf