Keyword Humanity

There is a belief that unites left and right, psychologists and philosophers, writers and historians. From Machiavelli to Hobbes and from Freud to Dawkins, this belief is deeply rooted in Western thought. Humans, we learn, are by nature selfish and self-serving. In Humanity a new argument is proposed: that it is realistic and at the same time revolutionary to think that people are good. The instinct to cooperate rather than compete, to trust rather than mistrust, has an evolutionary basis that reaches back to the beginning of our species. Believing the worst about others affects not only how we see our fellow human beings, but also politics and economics. Rutger Bregman, author of several international bestsellers, takes some of the world's most famous studies and events and reinterprets them, offering a fresh look at the last 200,000 years of human history, showing us how believing in human goodness and altruism can change the way we think - and be the foundation for really changing our society. It's time for a new view of human nature. They wrote about the book: "The book that was a challenge for me and made me see humanity with fresh eyes." –Yuval Noah Harari “Some books challenge our ideas. But Humanity is questioning the very assumptions on which these ideas are based. The book's bold, sweeping argument will make you rethink everything you believe about society, democracy, and human nature itself. In a sea of cynicism, this book is the sturdy, unsinkable lifeboat the world needs." –Daniel H. Pink, author of Motivation: The Unsurprising Truth About What Motivates Us "A great read." –Matt Haig "This is the book we need right now... Entertaining, uplifting... If Bregman is right, this book may make the world a kinder place." –Telegraph "In a world of sophisticated pessimism, this book is a refreshing change... 21st century readers miss prophets, especially optimists." –Economist Rutger Bregman is one of the most prominent young historians in Europe. Utopia for Realists was a Sunday Times and New York Times bestseller and has been translated from Dutch into thirty-two languages. He has been nominated twice for the prestigious European Press Prize for his writings in The Correspondent, while his articles have been published in the Washington Post and The Guardian. Bregman's TED talk, titled "Poverty is not a lack of character; it's a lack of cash," has more than three million views. He was ranked tenth in the Big Issue's list of the top 100 changemakers for 2020.