If there's one thing known from the Avatar franchise, is that bending is a powerful thing capable of many feats and it comes in various forms. It's an amazing power to have and it certainly has its perks. But like many good things, bending also has its dark side.
There are many ways in which bending has helped mankind evolve in the world of Avatar, but there are some harms it does to society as well. From aiding world building to creating conflict, there really are two faces to the art of bending. That said, bending is still awesome even though it's capable of great good or evil.
10 Hurts Society: Benders Tend To Abuse Their Powers
This is one negative aspect of bending that is quite common, and non-benders feel the full brunt of this act. Many benders use their power to take advantage of the weak, either by robbing them or just picking on them for some sick sense of satisfaction. The first book of The Legend of Korra showed how benders abusing their power can be dangerous to society. This act makes a lot of people hate the noble art of bending.
9 Benefits Society: Bending Makes Law Enforcement Efficient
It would be hard for law enforcement to work in a society full of powered humans if said law enforcement couldn't employ the same unnatural abilities to keep the peace. Using a group of powerful benders to enforce the law ensures that other benders, as well as non-benders, maintain order and desist from committing crimes. This kind of efficient law enforcement can be seen in action in Republic City's renowned police force.
8 Hurts Society: Bending Brings About Conflicts
Bending has the power to bring about terrible conflicts between benders and non-benders both. The Hundred Year War, as well as many other conflicts, began because of power hungry people with the resources to get what they want. The power of bending can be devastating in a war, as was seen in the Hundred Year War waged by the Fire Nation against the rest of the world, which wiped out the entirety of the Airbending people.
7 Benefits Society: Bending Resolves Conflicts
As with the case of law enforcement, bending is can be used to resolve conflicts that can only be resolved with a bit of violence. That is the entire obligation of the Avatar as many Avatars spent their lives using their bending to fight for peace. Avatar Aang had to defeat Fire Lord Ozai to end the Hundred Year War, and all of Korra's battles with various villains that threatened to tear the world apart were won through bending.
6 Hurts Society: The Power Of Benders Makes Non-Benders Feel Insecure
Being powerless when surrounded by people who possess unnatural abilities can give someone a feeling of insecurity. Anything can go wrong at any time, and non-benders could be caught in the fray.
It's certainly tough to have to coexist with such powerful people who can do what they want and get away with it. Some non-benders have gone as far as mastering some form of martial arts to be able to keep up with benders. This is what Sokka did when he felt he was always useless in a fight.
5 Benefits Society: Bending Can Be Used To Develop Cities
Bending can be used sensibly to create an environment where benders and non-benders can thrive. There were many instances of this in the comics. Bending is used to make life easy for everybody, especially as seen in Republic City. Proficient Firebenders who can generate lightning work at power plants to generate electricity for city-wide use. Earthbending can be used to build roads or houses and Waterbending can be used in conjunction with Earthbending to control floods. Bending is versatile and can be employed in so many ways to help a nation's growth.
4 Hurts Society: Bending Creates A Needless Hierarchy
In a society that consists of benders and non-benders, there tends to be a hierarchy that places those who can bend above those who cannot. This promotes a society where the strong oppress the weak, and non-benders as well as weaker benders can only suffer. In The Legend of Korra, this problem was solved by making the President of The United Republic of Nations a non-bender. This balance of power restored balance between benders and non-benders and ended the war between them.
3 Benefits Society: Mastering Bending Requires One To Master Discipline
Like Jeong Jeong once said, "To master the bending disciplines, one must first master discipline itself." This philosophy holds true as can be seen when Aang carelessly burnt Katara because he failed to obey instructions.
If one were to master discipline, then they wouldn't commit any wrongs to society. Many villains Korra faced were a bit disciplined, but they had ideologies that they took too far, which meant they lacked the discipline to see the bigger picture of what their actions would cause.
2 Hurts Society: Bending Can Be Destructive
Just like how bending can be used for building and infrastructure, it can also be used to destroy things, and not for reconstruction purposes. If a fight were to erupt between two or more powerful benders, it's completely possibly that a building could be destroyed or a road wrecked. When Korra came to Republic City, she roughed up some gangsters but trashed part of the block in the process. Seeing how swift and efficient the police were, it was unnecessary for Korra to tear up the city like that. Beautiful scenery or necessary infrastructure can easily be destroyed in a battle between benders.
1 Benefits Society: Bending Can Be Used To Defend The Weak
As stated earlier, there are two sides of every coin. Bending gives evildoers the power to oppress the weak, but that same bending gives people like the Avatar the power to defend the weak. When people's rights are infringed upon, or much weaker people are caught up in conflicts, powerful benders with a strong sense of justice can step in to restore order. This is one of the things that makes bending so important in society. The strong are meant to protect the weak.