The Scale of Evil
Evil isn't measured by size. It's measured by harm.
This scale is a stern guide for naming harm that society often excuses, normalizes, or quietly accepts. It doesn't claim perfect objectivity. It offers a consistent way to think.
- What happened?
- Who benefited?
- Who paid the cost?
- What was ignored?
- What was justified?
Three dimensions
Every score breaks down into three readings. Shown on each verdict, so you can disagree with one number without discarding the rest.
The weight of the damage done — and how many lives it lands on, not just how loud it was.
Whether the harm was chosen and foreseen, done through reckless indifference, or merely allowed.
Whether the harm stays contained or sets a precedent others are free to follow.
The five levels
One colour, five depths. A lesser evil isn't a different substance from a greater one — there's simply less of it.
Lesser Evil
Small, contained harm. Often dismissed as "not a big deal," even though it still erodes trust and dignity.
Petty conflicts of interest, misleading PR, small-scale greenwashing, "harmless" loopholes that hurt real people.
Minor Evil
Intentional exploitation or deception with measurable fallout. It benefits someone while quietly costing others.
Lobbying against consumer protections, exploitative labor practices, targeted misinformation, predatory fees.
Middling Evil
Coordinated or institutional harm affecting large groups. Not accidental, not isolated. Often defended as "just how things work."
Mass surveillance, election manipulation, systemic exploitation, environmental destruction for profit.
Major Evil
Severe, sustained harm that strips rights, safety, and dignity at scale. Lives are damaged, not just inconvenienced.
Systemic oppression, large-scale repression, deliberate public-health endangerment, engineered persecution.
Greater Evil
Catastrophic harm: mass violence, totalizing control, or actions that openly treat human life as disposable.
Crimes against humanity, genocide enablement, totalitarian control systems, mass atrocities.
A note on methodology
Each article's Evil Score is a reasoned judgment based on available evidence, context, and visible consequences. It isn't a verdict handed down from a moral court. It's a framing tool: a way to look at an action and ask what it costs other human beings.
This project is opinion and analysis by Shadow Exposed, supported by sources when applicable. Readers are encouraged to examine the evidence, challenge assumptions, and arrive at their own conclusions. The point isn't agreement. The point is a refusal to look away.