Why do the villagers conduct their lottery in "The Lottery?"?

The lottery is meant to show us man's inherent evil, and the destructive nature of observing ancient, outdated rituals. The story hints that this ritual is a kind of "sacrifice" shown by the line "Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon.", said by Old Man Warner, whose opinion seems to be of the most importance. This shows us the negative outcomes of following others instead of being an individual.