I live in the Managerial Age, in a world of Admin. The greatest evil is not now done in those sordid dens of crime that Dickens loved to paint. It is not done even in concentration camps and labour camps. In those we see its final result. But it is conceived and ordered {moved, seconded, carried, and minuted} in clean, carpeted, warmed and well-lighted offices, by quiet men with white collars and cut fingernails and smooth-shaven cheeks who do not need to raise their voices. Hence, naturally enough, my symbol for Hell is something like the bureaucracy of a police state or the office of a thoroughly nasty business concern.
C.S. Lewis reflects on the nature of evil in the modern world, suggesting that the most insidious acts are not necessarily carried out in overtly violent places like prisons or concentration camps. Instead, he argues that these actions are often planned and executed by ordinary bureaucrats within the sanitized confines of office buildings, where decisions about life and death can be made without drama or conflict. This points to a chilling detachment from the consequences of these decisions.
He emphasizes that the real danger lies in the administrative systems that facilitate this evil, symbolizing Hell not as a place of chaos, but as a structured environment filled with cold efficiency. Lewis's analogy of bureaucratic offices highlights how a smooth, calm exterior can mask the horrific realities of what is being discussed and decided within, illustrating a profound critique of modern bureaucracy and its moral implications.