Reason has a nice writeup on Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and the idea of "the banality of evil." It contains spoilers, so beware if you haven't finished the book yet.
"Most of the harm in the world is done by good people, and not by accident, lapse, or omission. It is the result of their deliberate actions, long persevered in, which they hold to be motivated by high ideals toward virtuous ends."
(Via The Leaky Cauldron)
Posted by Xkot at July 03, 2003 10:23 AM | Speak It | Trackbackhrum, not so sure I agree with most of that review - the review's more of a jumping of point for people to talk about the harry potter book rather than the deeply thought out philosophical statement I imagine it's pretending to be. Rather, I would continue, it is a shallowly thought out philosophical statement.
Which is fine, of course. Harry Potter books are such fun stories they should be talked about, hoom.
Posted by: dre on July 3, 2003 12:23 PM - link