The psychology of evil
www.ted.com
Philip Zimbardo knows how easy it is for nice people to turn bad. In this talk, he shares insights and graphic unseen photos from the Abu Ghraib trials. Then he talks about the flip side: how easy it is to be a hero, and how we can rise to the challenge.

What Philip Zimbardo tells us about human psychology is that everyday war crimes are committed by people that hide behind uniforms. Keeping a register of offenders in what appears as potential war crimes would have two positive effects:

  1. Provide the evidence for these people to be put on trial in better times
  2. Deter future offenders by making them think twice about their own future before unleashing their hate