implies that most people think that mistreating people is a very strong temptation and/or reliably useful
This does seem to be a common assumption—I remember being very confused as a teenager when people said that something I was doing was morally wrong, when the thing didn’t actually benefit me. (My memory is fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure this was family members getting frustrated with the way I acted when depressed.)
mare-of-night comments on Open Thread, November 23-30, 2013