I interpret lsusr as saying something closer to “What type of evil should you look out for in systems wherein people are separated from the pain they inflict on others? Evil that is manifested ex nihilo. If you have distance from the pain you cause, then the evil you cause will appear to you to have come from nowhere at all.”
I didn’t see him as claiming “The root cause of all evil is the distance between pain inflicter and pain receiver”, although I think there is a case there if you take an expansive view of “distance” (such as emotional distance in the form of a lack of empathy qualifying as “distance”).
I interpret lsusr as saying something closer to “What type of evil should you look out for in systems wherein people are separated from the pain they inflict on others? Evil that is manifested ex nihilo. If you have distance from the pain you cause, then the evil you cause will appear to you to have come from nowhere at all.”
I didn’t see him as claiming “The root cause of all evil is the distance between pain inflicter and pain receiver”, although I think there is a case there if you take an expansive view of “distance” (such as emotional distance in the form of a lack of empathy qualifying as “distance”).