I personally think it’s like a short circuit in the brain’s reward circuit or something. If you can convince people that what they are doing is achieving a greater good, they will do an endless amount of evil in order to achieve it.

Those that wake up from this delusion often end up being horrified at their own actions.

It should go without saying, but I’ll say it anyway:

If you are anticipating being enriched by the suffering of others, you are not in the right.