Moral Righteousness and the Banality of Evil

By Francis Jeus Ibañez 

Dr. Christopher Ryan Maboloc’s warning about the danger of believing in oneself to be inherently good echoes Hannah Arendt’s concern with the banality of evil: when individuals fail to question their own biases, they become complicit in systems of manipulation. This vulnerability is not confined to the oligarchs themselves but extends to ordinary Filipinos who aspire to join their ranks without critically examining the moral cost of such ambition.

To regulate oligarchic attitudes, both among the powerful and those who idolize them, we must cultivate critical self‑awareness and collective responsibility. Paulo Freire, in Pedagogy of the Oppressed, reminds us that liberation requires dialogue and reflection, not blind imitation of elites. Political strategies should emphasize transparency and accountability, as John Rawls argued in A Theory of Justice, ensuring that influence is not wielded as a weapon against the very citizens it claims to serve.

Moral strategies, on the other hand, must encourage humility and recognition of others’ perspectives. Charles Taylor’s reflections on identity and recognition highlight that wisdom lies not in proving others wrong but in acknowledging the legitimacy of diverse voices. Nationalism and citizenship, therefore, should not be reduced to economic competition or the pursuit of status above fellow Filipinos. Instead, they must be grounded in solidarity.

The recognition Benedict Anderson described in Imagined Communities, which explains that the nation thrives when its people act not out of narcissism or self‑importance, but out of a shared commitment to justice and the common good, is what we as a society requires. We must cease pretending that we know everything. Otherwise, we're condemning not just other people but most especially ourselves. That is not political maturity. It is political stupidity.