Coriolanus Snow's descent into evil stemmed from his fundamental belief that if a cause was sufficiently righteous, any action taken to achieve it was inherently justified.
His tyrannical nature was forged by a deeply ingrained conviction that the nobility of an objective sanctioned any means necessary to attain it. This core philosophy guided his actions, leading him to rationalize increasingly cruel measures throughout his reign.
Key Drivers of Coriolanus Snow's Evil
- The Principle of Justified Means: Snow was consistently driven by the belief that if a cause was righteous enough, anything done in pursuit of it was justified.
- Belief in Capitol Supremacy: He regarded the Capitol's absolute dominance over the other districts as among the most just and vital causes imaginable, thereby legitimizing all oppressive actions taken to maintain it.
The Foundation of His Ideology
From an early age, Snow embraced the idea that the end always justified the means, especially when the end was perceived as inherently good or necessary for maintaining order. He did not view this as a pragmatic compromise but as a moral imperative. This twisted logic allowed him to disregard conventional morality, believing that the purity of his ultimate goal—the preservation of the Capitol's power and control—absolved him of any wrongdoing, regardless of the brutality involved.
Justifying Oppression and Control
For the citizens of Panem, this dangerous ideology translated directly into his unwavering support and perpetuation of the Hunger Games and other oppressive systems. In Snow's mind, the Capitol's supremacy was a non-negotiable, righteous cause vital for preventing chaos and maintaining stability after the Dark Days. Therefore, any measure, no matter how severe—including the annual sacrifice of children in the arena—was not just permissible but essential. Each act of suppression, each life lost, was seen by Coriolanus Snow as a necessary step towards upholding what he considered to be a superior and indispensable societal structure. His evil, therefore, was not merely a product of inherent sadism, but rather a chillingly consistent application of a cold, calculating principle that prioritized power and control, veiled under the guise of maintaining a just order.
