You are the editor-in-chief of Time Magazine. It’s time to select the Person of the Year. (None of the below hypothetical is a reference to real people or events.)
On the one hand, you have a genocidal, monstrous person who has had immense effect on world events that year, affecting the lives of billions. This person is responsible for hundreds of millions of deaths, immense damage to the planet, more atrocities than Hitler, Mao, Stalin, Pol Pot, etc.
On the other hand, you have a saintly figure who’s done quite a bit of good in the world that year, such as some humanitarian work that has brought benefit to a considerable number of people. Quite possibly the most saintly figure of the year - however, this hero/heroine’s impact on the world is undeniably much less than that of the monster mentioned above - maybe only one-tenth as much.
Given that TIME Magazine’s criteria has traditionally been, “the person who was most impactful on world events that year,” who would you choose for Person of the Year? Bear in mind that most people still misunderstand it and consider Person of the Year to be an indication of virtue.
- The monster
- The saint