When talking about these guys, one word is all you need to check into:
'Ponerology'
Kudos. I never heard this term before, but it's spot-on.
Yeah, it was quite the eye-opener for me too when I first checked it out.
In case you're interested, here's a bit more on that:
Article: http://jamesfetzer.blogspot.ca/2012/08/twilight-of-psychopaths.html
Two Hour Radio Show (heavy duty): http://radiofetzer.blogspot.ca/2012/04/daniel-noel.html
-just click on 'Daniel Noel' at the top
-they get to the Ponerology topic later in the show (jump to 1:36)