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4.31 AVERAGE
4.31 AVERAGE
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
an excellent balance of psychology, philosophy, critical thinking, scientific interpretation and thinking outside of the box.
it challenges pretty much everything i thought i knew about people... we've got it all wrong somewhere along the way when we started to believe that humans are more evil than good, and it's not just hippy wishful thinking to believe otherwise. in fact, it may well be crucial to our survival to realise and embrace this key fact.
this book is very well-researched with a plethora of citations to back up its core argument (that humans are much more kind than we have come to believe, and that "being a realist" is much more akin to being compassionate than it is to being a cynic), but it is also full to the brim with humanity, humour and heart.
examples and case studies are from many different countries and communities across the world and some evidence is even presented from throughout our evolutionary history.
would recommend to anyone, 5 stars
it challenges pretty much everything i thought i knew about people... we've got it all wrong somewhere along the way when we started to believe that humans are more evil than good, and it's not just hippy wishful thinking to believe otherwise. in fact, it may well be crucial to our survival to realise and embrace this key fact.
this book is very well-researched with a plethora of citations to back up its core argument (that humans are much more kind than we have come to believe, and that "being a realist" is much more akin to being compassionate than it is to being a cynic), but it is also full to the brim with humanity, humour and heart.
examples and case studies are from many different countries and communities across the world and some evidence is even presented from throughout our evolutionary history.
would recommend to anyone, 5 stars
He was doing so well until he said don't punch Nazis!
In all seriousness, this was an interesting, informative and, most significantly, an uplifting read. It's not perfect. Bregman clearly, to some extent, cherry picks to support his narrative. Also, the book leans more to being a popular read rather than being fully convincing, in a way a more scholarly work could be (although, some my find this to be a strength). However, for someone like me, someone that intrinsically feels the book's premise is true, this book is very satisfying. Will it convince others? I'm not sure, but I would argue it will enlighten everyone in some way, and I will be recommending the book to most people.
Some further thoughts:
I've read a few reviews that preferred the front half to the back. I found the opposite to be the case. The first part of the book (which is more about challenging cynicism regarding the perceived limited capacity of humans to care about others) felt like it was treading over familiar territory, though it was still informative and has lots of valuable insights. By contrast, the back end of the book (more about how we are good and how we can change things to be better) felt genuinely more practical and solution focused, as well as more supported and convincing. Regardless, its all worth reading.
Maybe it's my bias and personal read on things (okay, it totally is my bias and personal read on things) but I also felt the most obvious point was not said out loud which, in essence, is this: Anarchism as a political outlook is the persuasive conclusion. In the footnotes, David Graeber comes up time and again (references to Debt, Utopia of Rules, the article in Bullshit Jobs and I believe others) and yet he's not explicitly mentioned once. Colin Ward and Emma Goldman get a mention but, while their ideology seems a clear undercurrent, it seems surprising that it's not more seriously considered or represented. Furthermore, when you are talking about the inherent sociability of humans and restructuring of political systems, it seems surprising that Kropotkin's Mutual Aid doesn't get looked at and expanded upon (someone needs to do this) and the ideas of Murray Bookchin's Libertarian Municipalism and the case of Rojava are not given a look in. If Bregman's opinion is (like mine) that humans have the capacity to be good to each other and this will be best reflected in a restructuring of society that is more community focused and loving, Anarchism seems to be more worthy of consideration, at least. However, this is my own bias and, ultimately, it's easy enough to put these thoughts onto Bregman's thinking without him doing it for me.
And, ultimately, that's why I recommend the book - it's engaging and thought provoking, as well as being hopeful. Reading it has made me consciously think about how I can be more helpful to others and - surely - that can only be a good thing.
In all seriousness, this was an interesting, informative and, most significantly, an uplifting read. It's not perfect. Bregman clearly, to some extent, cherry picks to support his narrative. Also, the book leans more to being a popular read rather than being fully convincing, in a way a more scholarly work could be (although, some my find this to be a strength). However, for someone like me, someone that intrinsically feels the book's premise is true, this book is very satisfying. Will it convince others? I'm not sure, but I would argue it will enlighten everyone in some way, and I will be recommending the book to most people.
Some further thoughts:
I've read a few reviews that preferred the front half to the back. I found the opposite to be the case. The first part of the book (which is more about challenging cynicism regarding the perceived limited capacity of humans to care about others) felt like it was treading over familiar territory, though it was still informative and has lots of valuable insights. By contrast, the back end of the book (more about how we are good and how we can change things to be better) felt genuinely more practical and solution focused, as well as more supported and convincing. Regardless, its all worth reading.
Maybe it's my bias and personal read on things (okay, it totally is my bias and personal read on things) but I also felt the most obvious point was not said out loud which, in essence, is this: Anarchism as a political outlook is the persuasive conclusion. In the footnotes, David Graeber comes up time and again (references to Debt, Utopia of Rules, the article in Bullshit Jobs and I believe others) and yet he's not explicitly mentioned once. Colin Ward and Emma Goldman get a mention but, while their ideology seems a clear undercurrent, it seems surprising that it's not more seriously considered or represented. Furthermore, when you are talking about the inherent sociability of humans and restructuring of political systems, it seems surprising that Kropotkin's Mutual Aid doesn't get looked at and expanded upon (someone needs to do this) and the ideas of Murray Bookchin's Libertarian Municipalism and the case of Rojava are not given a look in. If Bregman's opinion is (like mine) that humans have the capacity to be good to each other and this will be best reflected in a restructuring of society that is more community focused and loving, Anarchism seems to be more worthy of consideration, at least. However, this is my own bias and, ultimately, it's easy enough to put these thoughts onto Bregman's thinking without him doing it for me.
And, ultimately, that's why I recommend the book - it's engaging and thought provoking, as well as being hopeful. Reading it has made me consciously think about how I can be more helpful to others and - surely - that can only be a good thing.
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
Ihmiset voivat olla hyviä, jos heistä ei usko vain pahaa.
“But if you believe that people are essentially good, you have to question why evil exists at all. It implies that engagement and resistance are worthwhile, and it imposes an obligation to act.”
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
challenging
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
A really needed book in a moment I can find myself feeling cynical about the world
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
loved this :) great and incredibly well researched book about the tendency of humans to be kind, against the broad assumption of our inherently selfish nature. i loved all the sections picking apart famous experiments or incidents with cynical results. only part i didn’t like was that some parts were worded a little strangely and were occasionally disjointed, but nothing egregious. highly recommend!!!
dark
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced