A review by aaronj21
Humankind: A Hopeful History by Rutger Bregman

5.0

This is a great book with a great message, that there isn’t a ton of evidence that “human nature” is evil or that humans are inherently greedy or bad. From the Stanford Prison experiment to war to the Broken Windows theory, the author tackles these and many other pieces of evidence that are often pointed to as proof that people are basically garbage. Instead Bregman argues humans are basically cooperative, social, and good. He argues that we’ve achieved our top of the food chain status today not through our superior intellect or cunning but through our unique ability to be highly, highly social creatures. Additionally the author claims many of modern society’s social ills come from the simple principle that people behave how you expect them to. If you’re raised in a world that sees humans as basically shellfish and one bad day away from a “Purge” movie, you’re going to treat them that way and even develop those behaviors yourself.

While I don’t fully support everything Rutger Bregman has to say in this book (we’ll have to agree to disagree about his stance on punching Nazi’s), I do endorse his overall premise and can’t wait to read some of the works he’s cited. Overall this was a fascinating, read-able work and a bit of much needed hope in a difficult year.