In the NYT times today, David Brooks writes in Obama’s Christian Realism that Obama's liberal realism is based on Christian dualism, an acknowledgment that each of us carries the instinct for both good and evil: "[A]s you act to combat evil, you wouldn’t want to get carried away by your own righteousness or be seduced by the belief that you are innocent. Even fighting evil can be corrupting." No person or group of people, no matter how righteous and God-fearing they may be, should trust that their intentions will lead inexorably to good outcomes. They must be vigilant not only of their enemies, but of themselves.
What strikes me is that this understanding pre-dates Christianity. It is part of the Jewish belief in the Yetzer HaTov [instinct for good] and Yetzer HaRa [instinct for evil]. Each of us in endowed with both instincts. Judaism takes this notion further, finding this fact to be a positive statement about our humanity. The Yetzer HaTov is clearly the instinct that we would choose to be primary in our lives. But, according to Midrash (Bereishit Rabbah 9:7), “were it not for the Yetzer HaRa, a person would not build a house and would not marry and would not procreate and would not deal in business.” Thus, Judaism recognizes that even the evil inclination has a purpose that can lead to a good outcome. Capitalism is based on the notion that the pursuit of selfish interests can lead to economic value for all.
But, we need to be constantly aware that this inclination is at least as likely to lead to outcomes that can be destructive. Thus, we limit and restrain ourselves. David Brooks quotes Harry Truman, “We all have to recognize, no matter how great our strength, that we must deny ourselves the license to do always as we please.”
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