Thread by @shrikanth_krish

Much of the wisdom one finds in courses on "leadership", "strategy", "management" is predicated on the belief that humans are rational and reasonable

There is v little discussion of evil. Schadenfraude

It is only Religion that pays attention to studying Evil and unreason

In other words, the conventional wisdom of our civilization is based on the Enlightenment notion that people engage in "bad" things driven by rational self interest

And that through negotiation / compromise, we *can* get along with anyone

Religion in contrast accepts the existence of evil. Much of its literature concerns the triumph of good over evil

Ofc the understanding of evil will differ across cultures

But the underlying commonality is that Evil is real. It can't be sidestepped. And it cannot be *explained*

To me this is the fundamental conflict between the moderns and the ancients

The modern belief that people respond to incentives. And that everything can be explained through that prism

(Contd..)

Versus the ancient belief that there is such a thing as virtue or vice

And the human capacity for vice cannot be lessened purely through incentive management