There are plenty of people that actually believe that the end can indeed justify the means that are used to get to that desired end. In other words, for those that believe in this nonsensical idiom, pretty much anything then can be justified, if the end result, so of, appears to be of desired value. Not too surprisingly, the type of person that truly believes that the end justifies the means, are the very same type of people that are forever wanting to bend, break, or ignore conventional rules so as to have their own way – who thus find when questioned about their own ethics, responding that their actions are actually essentially ethical, because the end result is considered, at least, by them, to be good.
As they say the pathway to hell is paved with good intentions; and it could be added that the pathway to hell is also paved with those that believe that any means are justified, if a supposed good result, will occur. The problem with this type of mindset, is that ethics thus perpetually takes a back seat to actions so enacted, that, in theory, will ultimately have a good result. Yet, what isn’t taken into consideration, is all the nuances and the full consequences of the bad actions taken, that have been perceived as being, for example, unethical to others -- and so when these actions seem rewarded as being right, because the end result appears to be right, encourages then those others to go out and behave in the same similar way, ad nauseam. In other words, a supposed good end result, isn’t necessarily the definitive end of all the ramifications of that result. Rather, for instance, many people are impressionable, and if they see that in order for a given person of interest to get ahead, that this person has to lie, deceive, and exploit, of which, the return seems to be for that person behaving as such, the appearance of a very good life, then others are going to be prone and susceptible in following suit, come what may.
So then, in truth, those that utilize bad means, are on a distinctive arc, that bends inevitably to a very bad end. That is the way that it should be and that is the way that it actually is. To believe, otherwise, means to believe in a universe in which there is no moral or ethical order, whatsoever. Rather, there is order, and those that do not wish to adhere to that order, are going to reap fairly what they have so sowed. The choices that we make are ours to own up to – of which, then, should a given person decide to utilize whatever means, good or bad, that appeals to them, to get to where they believe that they really want to be, the consequences of any wrong actions are something that must be paid and paid in full by them. In fact, those that use bad means not only ultimately hurt their own self, but they are at least indirectly responsible for hurting others so damaged through their bad means. That is why bad means always leads to a bad end.