ABSTRACT
This chapter provides some of the background to the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) and attempts to address some questions about the responsibility of bystanders, the nature of perpetrators and optimal responses to survivors of societal evil. It addresses the questions of bystanders, the nature of perpetrators, and the optimal responses to survivors of societal evils. The chapter discusses the important differences between bystander and perpetrator evil. Bystanders bear responsibility for everyday acts of societal evil, as these entail a failure of empathy and of moral courage. Although the members of society may be susceptible to commit ordinary bystander societal evils, fewer may be capable of committing sadistic societal evils. Emerging democracy face the challenge of responding to past societal evils. A conflict may exist between the needs of the individual and society in the aftermath of such evils and the conflict is mediated by the work of the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission.
