Wickedness is generally considered a synonym for evil or sinfulness. Among theologians and philosophers, it has the more specific meaning of a profound evil committed consciously and of free will. It can also be considered the quality or state of being wicked. As characterized by Martin Buber in his 1952 work Bilder von Gut und Böse (translated as Good and Evil: Two Interpretations), "The first stage of evil is 'sin,' occasional directionlessness. Endless possibility can be overwhelming, leading man to grasp at anything, distracting and busying himself, in order to not have to make a real, committed choice. The second stage of evil is 'wickedness,' when caprice is embraced as a deformed substitute for genuine will and becomes characteristic." Wickedness connotes blameworthiness. Etymology The term wickedness dates back to the 1300s and is derived from the words wicked and -ness. Wicked is an extended form of the term wick meaning bad and is also associated with the Old English term wicca meaning a (male) witch. There is not a corresponding verb to the term, but the term wretched is also associated with the term. The term -ness is a word forming element denoting action, quality or state and is typically added to an adjective or past participle to make it an abstract noun. It is an Old English term and also comes from the Proto-Germanic term in-assu and many other cognates. Wickedness and power Throughout history power is typically seen to be a very dangerous and destructive element in people's lives. It is a cancer to society or is wicked if you will. Some theorists believe that power itself is actually in fact morally neutral. It is the results of power that determine whether or not power is seen as good. The people in power are then also seen as not wicked in their nature, but rather the urgency for power and within the nature of it is what makes power seen as a wicked idea. Theorists believe that if men were the wicked ones in the equation then the solution to the issues at stake would be ethical improvement. In the end, it isn't power or man that are wicked, but the results of power that cause it to be wicked. Causes There are two different types of wickedness that some people will argue. There is natural wickedness. This is the type of wickedness that is unpreventable such as