I think everyone has the capacity for self-delusion, but I think some people also have a substantial neurological lack of humanity. Those serial killers and child abusers are very commonly sociopaths. In a very real, psychiatric way, they do not have the capacity for guilt or fear. They don't even take particular joy in their crimes, either. It's just something they do because they wanted to do it. They understand that *other* people can feel guilt and fear, and they see this as a weakness, rather than an aspect of the "normal" human mind.
And I think people *are* guided by their values. But values are taught. If those people aren't taught those values and disciplined when they fall short, then bad habits can develop. If they get away with it and reap the rewards, they're likely to do it again, even when they know it's "wrong."
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This is, IMO, a perfectly reasonable question to ask. What kind of people would spend that kind of money on a party, rather than donate it to charity, give it to causes they believe in, or at worst, just invest it for their future children or their retirement? What kind of priorities does that choice signify? What kind of values system do these people really have?
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The cynic in me says that there are aspects of human nature that we resist acknowledging. The amateur cultural anthropologist in me says that the human mind was just not designed to think on a global scale. We think tribally. I mean, look at all the different nations, religious sects, and various clubs that blanket the world. Heck, we're talking in a "club" right now. We're a tribal people trying to exist in a global environment. We have to segment and compartmentalize the world; break it down into digestible elements to understand it.
So the distance of future generations is often beyond our human minds, and the suffering of starving people in Africa may as well be happening on Mars. Because not only are those people far away, but they have no access to the global village, like radio stations, Web sites, TV channels. They are effectively cut off from the world, out of sight and out of mind.