Or atrocities committed by organised religion, even though such action is considered a horrific sin according to the same religion's scripture. (it doesn't alwa

Or atrocities committed by organised religion, even though such action is considered a horrific sin according to the same religion's scripture. (it doesn't always have to be nation states - the size of the tribe doesn't seem to matter) The justification invariably seems to be that the oppressed are inferior in some way. Belief in the wrong god, wrong skin colour, whatever. I think it's probably a fundamental mechanism in the human psyche for coping with the cognitive dissonance of the "do as I say, not as I do" attitude that seems to come naturally as a consequence of power, unless consciously, actively and continuously worked against. Maybe yet another "passing on your genes" instinct?