My general assumption for the lowest I can expect a person to behave is basically always looking for their own absolute gain, and any attitude towards other people comes secondary to that. So while a person living by this standard wouldn’t donate to charity without some other motive, they would have basically the same answer to something like the trolley problem as anyone else.
Am I wrong thinking of this as a “minimum reasonable behavior”, or is there something people actually gain from the suffering of other people?
This question was born out of seeing how people are being treated by the US government at the moment, but I’m asking about more than just that. People like abusive partners/family, hostile cops, or just bullies in general.
Some people like to know they’ve made an impact on others, that they control them and their feelings. They like the idea that they’re living rent-free in someone’s brain. Being awesome, kind, contributive, etc is one way of doing that but it takes effort. Being cruel is another, usually easier, way to do it.
Same reason people smash stuff up and spray shitty graffiti - it’s far easier to destroy than to build but both kinds of ‘work’ get noticed.