Apparently we don't like this idea that a "system" can cause a genocide. Instead, we rather want to believe that only people with bad intentions are doing bad t

Apparently we don't like this idea that a "system" can cause a genocide. Instead, we rather want to believe that only people with bad intentions are doing bad things, and that if something dramatic happen it must be because some people wanted it that way, despite the enormous amount of evidence showing that our individual volition adds almost no weigh in the course of history. I suppose that this fallacy comes partly from the fear that people guilty of criminal negligence or hateful prejudice would escape punishment. Like that person who mentioned Nuremberg in his response. Well, no of course, that many circumstances are necessary for a genocide to happen beside just the will of the criminals, do not free anyone participating in it from the responsibilities of their actions (or lack thereof). But I also suspect this is coming from a deeper, darker psychological bias. This belief that there are "villains" behind every crime may just be the necessary belief to justify our own wrong behavior. We do not intend to cause any harm to anyone, yet we let a lot of unjust things happen every day. We walk past some people in need for assistance every day, but we can't help everyone right?, on our way to work in some IT corporation that's also helping build bombs or military IA that's going to be used in yet another unfair war but a good defense industry is necessary right? So in order for this thought to work as justification, we need to believe that, as long as we do not intend to cause harm, then we are in the green. The machinery we need to prevent the system we all play a small part into from causing such crimes of historical scale is that we should acknowledge and learn about the system. That's not enough to learn history ; in an advanced democratic society we would learn some sociology from middle school.