A must-read in the age of polarisation and division
4 stars
The central argument of this book is that human beings are basically decent people who care for each other and have an urge to co-operate. The author seeks to debunk the ideas like the one presented in the novel "Lord of the Flies", that people are violent and destructive at heart, and that without the restraints of civilisation, we would collapse into conflict and chaos. This misanthropic concept is also put forward by 17th century philosopher Thomas Hobbes, who claimed humans are inclined to descend into a "war of all against all".
Instead, Rutger Bregman proposes that our natural, primitive state is dominated by an urge to be social, to please each other, to co-operate. He compares it to the way some domestic animals have evolved to be friendly and playful, and says that this is the driving force behind evolutionary success. His nickname for the loving, caring humanity …
The central argument of this book is that human beings are basically decent people who care for each other and have an urge to co-operate. The author seeks to debunk the ideas like the one presented in the novel "Lord of the Flies", that people are violent and destructive at heart, and that without the restraints of civilisation, we would collapse into conflict and chaos. This misanthropic concept is also put forward by 17th century philosopher Thomas Hobbes, who claimed humans are inclined to descend into a "war of all against all".
Instead, Rutger Bregman proposes that our natural, primitive state is dominated by an urge to be social, to please each other, to co-operate. He compares it to the way some domestic animals have evolved to be friendly and playful, and says that this is the driving force behind evolutionary success. His nickname for the loving, caring humanity is "homo puppy". Instead of Hobbes, Bregman champions the ideas of Rousseau, that people are instinctively good, and that it is the ravages of civilisation, militarism, and cruel dictatorship which have brought out the worst in us. Brutish humanity is a false narrative, a zombie claim which refuses to die no matter how many times it is debunked.
I find that I am broadly sympathetic to Bregman's view. I live in an area ravaged by a recent disaster (the black summer bushfires of 2019-20) and the stories people tell of coming together in that time are powerful. I love the idea of getting back to nature. When a fossil fuel oligarch recently argued that climate action would mean humans go "back to the caves", my strong response was that this would actually be a good thing. "Back to the caves" has become one of my personal mottoes. "The caves" are where we are at our best.
This is a book for everyone. Given the times we are in as I write these words, I can't help thinking that the instinctive drive for decency will soon resurface and vanquish the unnatural construct of power and selfishness which has taken over the United States (and elsewhere) under the leadership of Donald Trump. The irresistible force of homo puppy has already started. It never went away.
