Reddit mentions of Destroying the World to Save It

> Further we both know that I can't show you this evidence.

You can't show me the evidence because it doesn't exist. They simple want this information because they think it might be useful. A number of different studies have already shown that the NSA's interception programs have had no discernable impact on their ability to prevent attacks. We have evidence to show that they don't need this access, and yet nothing to show they do.

> Source? This stuff interests me greatly.

There are thousands of peer reviewed journal articles on this subject. It's a well accepted position among scholars of international relations. If you do a google scholar search on "root causes of terrorism" you'll find a whole load of information.

Both of your examples at the end there were from doomsday cults. Jim Jones was not a terrorist though, he was simply both insane and charismatic. Aum Shinrikyo is definitely a terrorist organisation, however their motives have been difficult to ascertain. The subway attacks appear to have been a preemptive strike as they'd been tipped off about extensive, upcoming police raids.

The most credible theory on this that I've seen were that Aum Shinrikyo are a product of Japanese culture specifically. There's no indication that these attacks could have been predicted or prevented, as they were reactionary in the first place. As to what leads people to start and join doomsday cults, that's not something I've ever followed up, but they are an incredible minority.