The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence (review)

146 SHOFAR unpublished doctoral thesis, "The Portuguese Jewish Merchants of Seventeenth -Century Amsterdam: A Social Profile," Daniel Swetschinslry described these economic activities from a European perspective. In his chapter "Jewish Economic Activity in the History of Latin America" (pp. 135-137), Lewin described the major trends from the American perspective. At the present time, however, it is impossible to assess their role in quantitative terms, and the question of how large a role these people played in international commerce must remain unanswered. The most that can be said is that the crypto-Jews, who sometimes made up 15 percent or even 25 percent of the white population, participated actively in commerce. This is clearly shown in some of the biographies which Lewin quotes in his book. Much more research is needed, however, both in the European and the American archives, to fully understand the roles of these men on both sides of the Atlantic . It may easily transpire that, so far as commerce was concerned, it proved an advantage rather than a liability to maintain crypto-Jewish or even full Jewish identity. This conclusion in its turn may lead to a new understanding of an almost unbelievable phenomenon, where people who left cities such as Lisbon and Oporto for Amsterdam and Hamburg resumed the practice of Judaism, even after living for four or five generations as Catholics in Iberia. The history of the Marranos and the crypto-Jews is one which many people may cherish and admire, but, I am afraid, do not understand very well. Books such as this one by Lewin may help in the quest for satisfactory answers. Joseph Shatzmiller University of Toronto The Roots of Evil: The Origins of Genocide and Other Group Violence, t>y Ervin Staub. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989. 336 pp. $29.95. Contrary to popular conceptions, genocide is not a twentieth-century invention. Although the word itselfwas coined only some forty-five years ago by Raphael Lemkin (Axis Rule in Occupied Europe, Washington, DC: Carnegie Endowment, 1944), genocidal acts have occurred all too frequently in human history. Its most commonly accepted definition is that adopted by the United Nations Genocide Convention in 1948: a variety of acts "committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group." Many scholars are less than satisfied with this definition. More important, however, is their effort to understand the causes of genocide and how to prevent it. In his important new book, The Roots of VoLume 9, No.3 Spring 1991 147 EviL: The Origins of Genocide and Group VioLence, Ervin Staub, a social psychologist internationally renowned for his work on altruism, proposes an analytical model which can alert us to its predisposing societal conditions and offers some remedies to abort it. Scholars generally approach the study of genocide from two perspectives : a particularist one which emphasizes the unique conditions of each occurrence or a generalizing one which emphasizes the commonalities such occurrences share. In this volume, Staub joins the group seeking commonalities . What distinguishes the work from others is his emphasis on the psychological dynamics accompanying particular cultural and environmental conditions which progressively facilitate evil acts along a continuum of small, escalating steps. "The essence of evil," says Staub, "is the destruction of human beings." It includes not only killing others, "but the creation of conditions that materially or psychologically destroy or diminish people's dignity, happiness, and capacity to fulfill basic material needs." The avoidance of evil depends not only on ameliorating these conditions but on the creation of cultures and social systems designed to promote human welfare. Staub identifies three origins of mistreatment of others, none of which alone is sufficient: difficult life conditions, particular cultural and personal characteristics, and an authoritarian or totalitarian societal-political organization . The elements of the first are widely accepted; they include, among others, economic problems, rapid social change, and social disorganization. Under such conditions, people become motivated to defend themselves physically and psychologically, as they seek to overcome obstacles frustrating their goals and values. Whereas such conditions can become constructive challenges for some groups, they can precipitate destructive acts for others. They are more likely to do...