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Necessary evil

Reader question: What is "necessary evil"?

My comments:

Evil but necessary is the short answer.

"Necessary evil" is a phrase best used in paradoxical situations where you find something unpleasant (evil) but necessary (something you have to do or accept in order to achieve what you want).

In a Guardian column (Newspapers and search, March 13, 2006), for instance, Jeff Jarvis called Google "something between a necessary evil and a friend". Evil, in the sense that Google excerpts newspapers' content on its pages "and making money there". Necessary because without Google, the most visible news organizations just won't be, well, so visible. Jarvis wrote:

"The World Association of Newspapers is portraying Google as an enemy of news. I wouldn't say that. I'd call Google something between a necessary evil and a friend - and if news organizations are smart, they will learn how to befriend the beast. The Paris-based WAN, which represents 72 national newspaper associations, has joined with a posse of 11 European publishing groups to seek help from the EU and to threaten legal action against Google for excerpting members' content on its pages and making money there. One publisher calls this 'stealing', another 'napsterisation'. They are not alone in their fear, resentment and digital cluelessness. Agence France Presse sued Google to try to stop it from quoting the wire service's content. American book publishers are also trying to stop Google from indexing their text.