That is the really sobering thing about the emotional metabolism of abstract benevolence: that the capacity for evil so easily cohabits and feeds upon the emotion of virtue.

That’s because the emotion of virtue is a Trojan Horse for the vanity of virtue. And evil is nourished by vanity. Concretely, these vanities are moral and intellectual. The two of them make an intoxicating combination that overwhelms any instinct to be honest with ones self. Who can resist fancying themselves altruistic and smart at the same time?

Of course, when that doesn’t work in an argument, they tell you you’re stupid not to take the government dough. So much for moral superiority…