The subtitle is mine. But, it seems, they really are out to be nice to you! We have been raised with the idea that civilisation is only a veneer, and that without the forces of law and order we would quickly revert to barbarism. Witness the Nazis and Lord of the Flies. But the evidence is otherwise. In a crisis, people pull together. This occurred during the Blitz in London, it occurred in cities in Germany after heavy bombing, and it occurred in New Orleans after the floods. In the case of the Blitz, this was contrary to government fears. In battles, very few soldiers can bring themselves to kill the enemy, and they aim elsewhere, if at all. Extensive evidence for this is given.
I guess we partly have the theory of Evolution to blame, with its idea that we arose from barbarism in the last few millennia (NOT true.) And before that we had Christianity and its notion of original sin. Either way, we burden ourselves with the notion that we are basically bad. The very simple premise of this book is that we are basically good, with the evidence to prove it. And it's great to hear.
As
for The Lord of the Flies, that is FICTION. A real life example
occurred for a year on a Pacific Island, by accident, and the boys
thrived. William Golding should have his Nobel Prize removed for wilful
misanthropy.
The author also dismantles the infamous Milgram and Stanford experiments, showing that they are not at all what they seem.
Of course if you are part of any mystical tradition worth its salt (as opposed to a religion) you won't think narrowly in terms of good and bad and judge yourself accordingly. You will know that underneath it all is Spirit with its abundance and joy and compassion, and that is your real nature, and that life is about listening to that and living it. And then relating to other people as though they are that too.
There are some wonderful stories in this book. About the soldiers at Christmas in WWI fraternising with the enemy. About Nelson Mandela making friends with his main pro-apartheid opponent, which made all the difference politically. And illustrating how personal relationship makes all the difference: the people at home hate the enemy much more than do soldiers on the front line, who fight not so much out of ideology as out of personal comradeship: this was very strong in the WWII German Army, which is why they were the best fighters.
Rutger Bregman also explores what politics and society can be like if the basic idea is to trust, consult and give power to people, using real life examples from Venezuelan and US cities.
There is masses more in this book, which is well-researched, highly original and very readable.
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