Genocide produces a moral reversal where killing itself becomes a duty.

Evidence

The prohibitions that normally inhibit violence lose force. The killing of the victims can become a goal in its own right. Fanatic commitment devel­ ops to the ideology and to the specific goal of eliminating the victims. Even goals basic to persons and groups, like self-protection, come to be subordi­ nated to this “higher” goal (Staub, 1989b; von Maltitz, 1973), which becomes the dominant guide to action. There is a reverse of morality, so that killing becomes the right thing to do. The example of terrorist groups shows that even life itself can be subordinated when overriding fanatic commitment has de­ veloped to a murderous cause. — Leonard S. Newman and Ralph Erber (eds.), Understanding Genocide, 135

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Modern rational bureaucracy rendered genocide morally neutral to its perpetrators — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 449; Morality shifting redefines the frame so atrocities no longer seem immoral; Moral reconstrual, not personality change, converts civilians into killers — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement: How People Do Harm…, 342 (+5 more)

Broader Connections

• Morality shifting redefines the frame so atrocities no longer seem immoral #expands (0.88)
• Context makes some killing morally required rather than wrong #corroborates (0.84)
• Moral reconstrual, not personality change, converts civilians into killers #expands (0.82) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 342
• Modern rational bureaucracy rendered genocide morally neutral to its perpetrators #qualifies (0.76) — David Theo Goldberg, John Solomos, A Companion to Racial and Ethnic Studies, 449
• Dignifying a victim during killing creates a moral paradox #complicates (0.75) — Albert Bandura, Moral Disengagement, 2033
• Contrasting worse inhumanities makes one’s own wrongdoing seem righteous #exemplifies (0.74)
• Death-penalty support personnel become morally disengaged by repeated exposure #exemplifies (0.73)
• Moral disengagement can make harm exilarating and not always sustainable #complicates (0.72)