I get the feeling there comes a point where 'do better than them' turns into do exactly like them. I really wish people had gone with 'live and let live', but since that didn't happen the inevitable pendulum swing will.
And the more similar your enemy is to you in this quality, the more likely this becomes a vicious circle that eventually lets everyone compromise everything.
"The bad guys are doing the same thing that we're doing, so isn't it good that us good guys are keeping up? Would you rather this be done by the good guys, or just the bad guys? Are you working for the bad guys?"
Sadly, if people play by the rules and unfair stuff keeps happening, you teach people to use tactics that they find personally revolting. Welcome to what happens when you move from "I must act honorably" to "the end justifies the means". Never push people to the thin ice unless you are prepared for the consequences as those powerless peons you hurt might just not be so powerless.
It’s not an absence of rational ethics, it’s an absence of certainty when faced with imperfect data.