Karma

Theory:

The core of evil is the denial of accountability.

This idea runs beneath the surface of many religions, but is seldom stated so clearly. We are all familiar with the idea that God or Karma will "get back at you" through some magical weighing of the cosmic scales. In the long run, you will be paid for the good you do and the evil you do.

We seem to really need to believe this, since we cannot bear the fact that evil people are *not* punished and innocent people constantly. This *cannot* be the way the Universe works.

But, of course, this is *exactly* the way the Universe works. We can't change the way the Universe works but we can change the way we *see* it and salvage an important ethical principal.

As citizens of a Universe that doesn't give a shit about us, many moral positions are possible.
Here I confine myself to the attitudes of people who would be judged to be are evil under a wide variety of ethical frameworks, including the religious one but even the framework of secular law.

• A religious believer may accept Karma or judgment day as a fact but go on committing crimes and put the final reckoning out of his mind (denial)
• Someone who put little stock in karma or heaven may rationalize his evil deeds in many ways. It was not my fault. I was only following orders. I was just getting even. God made me do it. I was sick and not responsible. Nobody cares what happens to <fill in the blanks>. What *all* these answers have in common is denial of accountability.
• The most appalling  acts of evil come from the attitude of exceptionalism, both by individuals and nations. Somehow, nature or God has placed certain individuals above the mass of humanity and normal principals of accountability (Earthly or otherwise) do not apply to them. For example, the US Military can do anything it wants as long as it (rightly or wrongly) believes that such actions are in the interests of the US. On an individual level, the attitude is clearly seen in Donald Trump, who sees the people who get in his way like inconveniently placed rocks and trees.

In Christianity, we have the idea that confession and repentance (basically accepting accountability) can wipe the slate clean. In secular law, remorse has a role to play in sentencing and parole hearings. On an individual secular level, we have the idea of "owning" the consequences of our bad decisions. In many legal systems, we have the idea of making the victim whole. The idea of accountability is absent from our civil law where a victim may be compensated but the perpetrator never accepts responsibility. Ethics and accountability are absent from the process. It's just a game over money played by professionals. As a result, evil people flourish in many places around the world.

Whatever one might think of the "world beyond", this idea of accountability and acceptance seems to be robust, widely accepted -- a practical element of any ethical framework.