Das Prinzip des »Bösen«

A cover design for Das Prinzip des »Bösen« (German for The Concept of “Evil”) by Daniel Smeritschnig, published by proLIBRIS VerlagsgesmbH. On the book: “How does it happen that seemingly peaceful and outwardly life-affirming people become ice-cold murderers? Can it be that in all of us there is at least a spark of the potential to become a perpetrator of violence, which at some point ignites the fire when external circumstances and events coincide? Can we all become murderers? It is a comprehensive riddle that can never be fully solved. But we can get within inches of the answer.”

“Fortunately, crimes of this kind are not commonplace. Equally commonplace, however, seems to be the presence of the most diverse forms of crime, which likewise generate fear and a sense of threat. Here, too, one can ask for explanations, and here, too, one can often come very close to an answer. This was precisely the incentive to write this book, which is a comprehensive treatise on the criminology of everyday crimes. It cannot predict which of us will become a perpetrator or even a murderer. But it can at least explain what factors contribute to creating a perpetrator.«