Unlike the Light Side of the Force, which embraces the whole, the entire focus of the Dark Side is the self. The appeal of the Dark Side is its very destructiveness and its isolation. Those who seek power for selfish reasons ind comfort in its narcissistic gaze. The Dark Side emphasizes aggrandizement of self to the exclusion of others. In this way, rage and anger are turned into sources of strength.
Many are attached to the Dark Side because of its selfish nature allows great and showy deeds. The ease with which power is summoned belies its danger, for anger and hatred consume the individual even as one dominates one's surroundings. Ultimately, the Dark Side rejects the very celestial nature of life itself. To the Jedi, the Force is not a part of their existence; it is their existence. To a student of the Dark Side, this is incomprehensible.
It is not uncommon for Dark Side students to go into the wilderness, much as their Light Side counterparts do. The crucial difference is that the Light Jedi goes into the wilderness to commune with the wild. The Dark Side follower goes to seperate himself from the community of life. There, in isolation, a Dark Side follower can perfect his or her own oneness with the Dark Side, and revel in that corruption. Yet, in the Dark Side are anger and hatred and isolation and.... fear. That fear drives the Jedi to isolation, jealousy and the desire to be the most powerful of all.
This very predatory nature sparks battles of dominance when several Dark Jedi or Dark Side Adepts gather. Sometimes these are violent confrontations, other times they involve subtle mind games or diplomatic discussions; but make no mistake, there will be some attempt to assert control over each other. The violent nature of the Dark Side often leads to betrayal and bloodshed.
Not only does this fratricidal tendency discourage long term cooperation among Adepts, it also has hindered the passing of knowledge. Whereas the Jedi and other servants of the Light Side have established great libraries and oral traditions to advance their work and educate succeeding generations, those of the Dark Side have few such institutions. Many never record their knowledge for fear it may aid an enemy. Others are too arrogant to allow others to learn from their mistakes.
The current period is not the only time servants of evil have used the Force for vast power. The Dark Side's influence has waxed and waned throughout history. This is what Bodo Baas Holocron has to say about the Dark Side:
"A Jedi does not grasp at power. A Jedi is not a dominator, not an oppressor. To grasp for power is to abandon the Ways of the Force. Such a one ceases to know the Force, except in his Dark Side. To grasp at power is to take up the path that leads to destruction. The Dominator is the enemy, yes. But the Jedi do not use the dark powers of the dominator against him."
- Jedi Master Bobo Baas
This quotation is important to understand the Dark Side. It hints at the temptations of conquest and domination that the Dark Side offers. There have been many who have served the Dark Side, but not all of them sought to rule the universe as Palpatine has. There are many, like the Krath, who were content to rule a small region of the galaxy. Others, like Ulic Qel-Droma, simply spread death and destruction on a genocidal level. Many, like the clone of Jorus C'baoth, have been driven insane by it and have dominated only the chaos in their minds.
Only Palpatine has been able to spread his darkness completely and totally over an entire galaxy. What has proven to be the lasting genius of Palpatine as Emperor is his devotion to collecting all the knowledge of the Dark Side that he can, as well as what Light Side information he can corrupt and preserve. He is no more altruistic than any other, but his newfound immortality has given him the patience that all before him have lacked.
