What is the difference between good and bad? Things that are appear to be good can end up being so evil, and things that look inherently evil turn out to be good things. according to the dictionary, the meaning for this context of 'good' is "for the common benefit." Evil has 'That which is morally bad or wrong'. This brings up some interesting debates, as to the definition of true evil. It's a communal agreement that something is not right. About 90% of the world population agrees that killing another person without 'just cause' is evil. The problem that I see, if that a lot of people are having an issue with the "just cause" portion of it. I define "Just cause" as the following:

• Your life is in mortal danger (it's him or me)
• Other people's lives are in mortal danger

So, what constitutes true evil? Murder, certainly. Even in self defense, or as a way of stopping a person from killing, is still an inherently evil act. It's justifiable, but that will not take guilt away, or bring that life back. Be it one life, or 6 Million, murder can be called evil. But why? It is the ultimate act of theft, the forceable removal of someone's life. That's why, and that also why it's so easy to define killing as evil. but property theft? robbing a bank? what is so evil about that? The Stainless Steel Rat justifies robbing banks in this manner:

You have not really stolen anything. The insurance covers the loss of money, and makes up for it by declaring a smaller dividend at the end of the quarter. By that time, you've already put the money back into circulation, which generates business for people, and also keeps the police force busy in the (futile) attempt to catch you. the people get to watch this excitement on television, which makes them happy. it's a win-win situation.

Of course, that's science fiction, and real life is a bit different. But it brings robbing banks from a person with different morals (or superior morals, as he would say) into perspective. Something that may be evil from one person's perspective is not necessarily evil for someone else. Then there are the 'moral' crimes, such as prostitution, drugs, gambling, etc. drugs are only evil if you become addicted to them. The weed smokers have been saying this for years, legalize drugs, and some of the problems will go away, crime will go down, etc. The crime rate will go down, because people will not be committing a crime to respond to some urge that the body is craving, or killing people over turf.