Humankind: A Hopeful History
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- Create Date：2021-05-08 00:51:36
- Update Date：2025-09-06
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- Author：Rutger Bregman
- ISBN：1408898950
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Summary
FROM THE AUTHOR OF THE 'NEW YORK TIMES' BEST SELLER 'UTOPIA FOR REALISTS'， A "BOLD" （DANIEL H。 PINK）， "PROVOCATIVE" （ADAM GRANT） ARGUMENT THAT OUR INNATE GOODNESS AND COOPERATION HAVE BEEN THE GREATEST FACTORS IN HUMANITY'S SUCCESS。
If there is one belief that has united the left and the right， psychologists and philosophers， ancient thinkers and modern ones， it is the tacit assumption that humans are bad。 It's a notion that drives newspaper headlines and guides the laws that shape our lives。 From Machiavelli to Hobbes， Freud to Pinker， the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought。 Human beings， we're taught， are by nature selfish and governed primarily by self-interest。
But what if it isn't true？ International best seller Rutger Bregman provides new perspective on the past 200，000 years of human history， setting out to prove that we are hardwired for kindness， geared toward cooperation rather than competition， and more inclined to trust rather than distrust one another， in fact this instinct has a firm evolutionary basis going back to the beginning of 'Homo Sapiens'。
From the real-life 'Lord of the Flies' to the solidarity in the aftermath of the Blitz， the hidden flaws in the Stanford prison experiment to the true story of twin brothers on opposite sides who helped Mandela end apartheid， Bregman shows us that believing in human generosity and collaboration isn't merely optimistic - it's realistic。 Moreover， it has huge implications for how society functions。 When we think the worst of people， it brings out the worst in our politics and economics。 But if we believe in the reality of humanity's kindness and altruism， it will form the foundation for achieving true change in society， a case that Bregman makes convincingly with his signature wit， refreshing frankness， and memorable storytelling。
"I greatly enjoyed reading 'HUMANKIND'。 It made me see humanity from a fresh perspective and challenged me to rethink my long-held beliefs。 I warmly recommend it to others， and trust it will stir a lot of fruitful discussions。" （Yuval Noah Harari， author of the number best seller 'Sapiens'）
THE NUMBER ONE DUTCH BEST SELLER
RUNNING TIME ⇒ 11hrs。 and 37mins。
©2020 Rutger Bregman （P）2020 Little， Brown & Company
If there is one belief that has united the left and the right， psychologists and philosophers， ancient thinkers and modern ones， it is the tacit assumption that humans are bad。 It's a notion that drives newspaper headlines and guides the laws that shape our lives。 From Machiavelli to Hobbes， Freud to Pinker， the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought。 Human beings， we're taught， are by nature selfish and governed primarily by self-interest。
But what if it isn't true？ International best seller Rutger Bregman provides new perspective on the past 200，000 years of human history， setting out to prove that we are hardwired for kindness， geared toward cooperation rather than competition， and more inclined to trust rather than distrust one another， in fact this instinct has a firm evolutionary basis going back to the beginning of 'Homo Sapiens'。
From the real-life 'Lord of the Flies' to the solidarity in the aftermath of the Blitz， the hidden flaws in the Stanford prison experiment to the true story of twin brothers on opposite sides who helped Mandela end apartheid， Bregman shows us that believing in human generosity and collaboration isn't merely optimistic - it's realistic。 Moreover， it has huge implications for how society functions。 When we think the worst of people， it brings out the worst in our politics and economics。 But if we believe in the reality of humanity's kindness and altruism， it will form the foundation for achieving true change in society， a case that Bregman makes convincingly with his signature wit， refreshing frankness， and memorable storytelling。
"I greatly enjoyed reading 'HUMANKIND'。 It made me see humanity from a fresh perspective and challenged me to rethink my long-held beliefs。 I warmly recommend it to others， and trust it will stir a lot of fruitful discussions。" （Yuval Noah Harari， author of the number best seller 'Sapiens'）
THE NUMBER ONE DUTCH BEST SELLER
RUNNING TIME ⇒ 11hrs。 and 37mins。
©2020 Rutger Bregman （P）2020 Little， Brown & Company
Reviews
Maddie Nastase
，
Oh wow， how I needed this！ 💙it was basically a giant hug for the child inside me that continues to hope against hope that the world is good。
Poppy Flaxman
，
This was the perfect antidote to everything going on。 I loved it。
Geert-Jan
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In potentie een geweldig boek。 Er zitten veel pareltjes in。 Jammer dat de schrijver vooral bezig lijkt te zijn te overtuigen dat het een objectieve zoektocht is door overbodig veel misplaatste retorische vragen en selectieve interpretatie。 De schrijfstijl met anekdotes leidt af en schaadt de geloofwaardigheid， maar daardoor leest het voor de meesten wel lekker weg lijkt me。
Vivi :）
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I thought Utopia for Realists is my favorite book but now I'm not sure😅， just know I love anything Rutger writes and hope he never stops sharing his smartness and kindness with the world。 Utopia for Realists made me change my politics and now Humankind showed me how most of the research studies I knew about/learned in school， are wrong。 Which is for the better because I think he analyzes most of the studies that terrify me and shows a different side I could have never thought existed。 Can Rutger I thought Utopia for Realists is my favorite book but now I'm not sure😅， just know I love anything Rutger writes and hope he never stops sharing his smartness and kindness with the world。 Utopia for Realists made me change my politics and now Humankind showed me how most of the research studies I knew about/learned in school， are wrong。 Which is for the better because I think he analyzes most of the studies that terrify me and shows a different side I could have never thought existed。 Can Rutger be the Supreme commander of the free world already？ Also， unrelated， but the English translation Homo puppy is adorable but also makes me think of a gay dog and I'm here for it。 Had to get this out my system。 。。。more
Michelle Yurie
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Zipped through this book because it was exactly what I needed to read at this point in my life。 Having worked in US foreign policy for a short stint， I have been grappling with deep feelings of cynicism and hopelessness。 This book reminded me of a more real view of people and human nature， rather than the one that is perpetuated through the root beliefs of capitalism and American representative democracy that says people are inherently selfish and warring is in our nature。 Of particular delight Zipped through this book because it was exactly what I needed to read at this point in my life。 Having worked in US foreign policy for a short stint， I have been grappling with deep feelings of cynicism and hopelessness。 This book reminded me of a more real view of people and human nature， rather than the one that is perpetuated through the root beliefs of capitalism and American representative democracy that says people are inherently selfish and warring is in our nature。 Of particular delight to me was the section upending the legitimacy of the many of social-psychological experiments that purported to show the true evil of human nature。 Not sure if I agree with the author’s ideas on how to change our systems， described in the last two sections， but a great read nonetheless。 。。。more
Danae
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Ένα βιβλίο που θα ήθελα να είχε την ευκαιρία να το διαβάσει ο κάθε ένας άνθρωπος αυτού του πλανήτη。
Zuzulique
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Ano， na malu chvilu sa zo mna stal optimista a dufam， ze mi to este nejaky cas vydrzi， aj ked je to zrejme utopia。 No velmi by som chcela a priala si， aby tato kniha utopiou nebola。 Chcem verit v ludskost。
Djeph
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Mooi pleidooi。
Millie
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This book looks at various psychological and philosophical theories about the true Nature of mankind - are men inherently good or bad？ Rutger Bregman believes the former。 Throughout this book， he uses evidence from the scientific literature and historical occurrences to prove his point， and delve into trying to understand what motivates us as humans。 I found this book truly fascinating。 I particularly enjoyed the sections about the evolution of man， and the reasons it is thought that our hominid This book looks at various psychological and philosophical theories about the true Nature of mankind - are men inherently good or bad？ Rutger Bregman believes the former。 Throughout this book， he uses evidence from the scientific literature and historical occurrences to prove his point， and delve into trying to understand what motivates us as humans。 I found this book truly fascinating。 I particularly enjoyed the sections about the evolution of man， and the reasons it is thought that our hominid lineage evolved instead of the Neanderthals， which were believed to be smarter， fitter and stronger than us。 Rutger believes that it was not a case of survival of the fittest， but survival of the kindest。 That through our kindness and sociable nature， we have been able to survive and learn from each other in a way that makes us superior。 I found the scientific evidence he references throughout very interesting and found myself looking them up to find out more - in particular the works of Milgram and Zimbardo， the bystander and broken window theories， etc。。 I had already known of these experiments/theories， but learning about the specifics grabbed my attention。 The passages about the “real life Lord of the Flies” and the history of Easter island were fascinating， and I would love to learn more about this。 I know that I will definitely be going back to this book in the future as there are things I want to delve into in more detail。 I would definitely recommend this book if you enjoy non-fiction， learning about Human Nature and what motivates us as a species。 ** Thank you to Tandem Collective and Bloomsbury Publishing for my free copy of Humankind as part of an Instagram promotion ** 。。。more
Ian
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Not visible
Teresa
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I really enjoyed this， it's given me a refreshing， positive perspective on how to view the world I really enjoyed this， it's given me a refreshing， positive perspective on how to view the world 。。。more
Nicky Maunder
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I found this a fascinating and enlightening read。 Bregman covers a whole host of topics including human history and evolution， democracy， education， corrections， why good people turn bad and excusing the harm that some may do。 This is a great reference book， starting right from the start of the early humans looking at why our species survived， what makes us so special （the answer might surprise you！） Bregman pulls on famous psychological experiments and gives you new insight into their learnings I found this a fascinating and enlightening read。 Bregman covers a whole host of topics including human history and evolution， democracy， education， corrections， why good people turn bad and excusing the harm that some may do。 This is a great reference book， starting right from the start of the early humans looking at why our species survived， what makes us so special （the answer might surprise you！） Bregman pulls on famous psychological experiments and gives you new insight into their learnings （this was probably my favourite section as I studied these in my a levels）。 He’s putting forward a new way of thinking - that humans are inherently good。 This is a widely researched book， pulling on stories from all over the world。 There were some sections in the book that I admittedly struggled with （mainly on application of new realism in the world of business） but for the most of it - I was fascinated。 But it gives me hope for humans as we turn to face our next challenges。 。。。more
Nick Knitter
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A lot of factual data and information to make the case that the human species IS inherently kind
Owen Kurtz
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Constantly entertaining， interesting and informative look into human nature and why we should all maybe get along。 At it's best when questioning and digging further into some stories and "experiments" （ie。 Lord of the Flies， Zimbardo Prison Experiment， Milgram Shock Experiment， Bystander Theory） that led mass media and most people into thinking your average folk is worse than they really are （spoiler: they're a bunch of hooey and if a college professor told you to cosplay as a prison guard you w Constantly entertaining， interesting and informative look into human nature and why we should all maybe get along。 At it's best when questioning and digging further into some stories and "experiments" （ie。 Lord of the Flies， Zimbardo Prison Experiment， Milgram Shock Experiment， Bystander Theory） that led mass media and most people into thinking your average folk is worse than they really are （spoiler: they're a bunch of hooey and if a college professor told you to cosplay as a prison guard you wouldn't torture someone else lmao， wtf ppl just are not that crazy）。What may seem like just a motivational book on human optimism， easily gets interpreted into political goals of how our systems and institutions would make more sense and work better for the people if they weren't designed to distrust and treat others as the assholes those earlier stories and theories told us they were。 Rutger Bregman is a really entertaining writer as well， just a pleasure to read and makes his topics super engaging， although as with his other book on UBI， maybe dives into a few too many topics that don't serve his point too strongly， or seems redundant。 。。。more
Soare Corina
，
very interesting topics approached from a new prospectives。
Mar
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This was somehow a comforting， vindicating and frustrating book to read all at once。 Comforting and vindicating， because I agree with the author's belief that humans are not inherently selfish or violent or just "bad"， and it was nice being presented overwhelming proof of this perspective。 （The author discusses one by one case studies that are so often brought up as proof of humanity's "badness" and disproves them， step by step， methodically， as well as presenting evidence to the contrary， and i This was somehow a comforting， vindicating and frustrating book to read all at once。 Comforting and vindicating， because I agree with the author's belief that humans are not inherently selfish or violent or just "bad"， and it was nice being presented overwhelming proof of this perspective。 （The author discusses one by one case studies that are so often brought up as proof of humanity's "badness" and disproves them， step by step， methodically， as well as presenting evidence to the contrary， and it was， in honesty， very satisfying to read。） And frustrating， because it also made me painfully aware of not only how many people， but also how much of our society， culture， economy and politics function on the basis of that negative outlook on ourselves anyway。 It was also very interesting， seeing my own instinctively sceptical and hesitant reaction to the author's arguments， even as he backed them with compelling evidence - it's like， even though I didn't believe in the "humans are inherently bad" thing in the first place， this book made me more aware of how much distrust and cynicism I have internalized anyway。I can't fully agree with all of the author's sentiments （like his stance on punching Nazis）， but， overall， this was quite a thought-provoking and reassuring book。 。。。more
Natascha Stamm
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Ein Muss für alle Sapiens！
Franziska
，
Awesome book。 Everyone should read it next。
Dominik Macko
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Everybody should read this book。
Snorre Lothar von Gohren Edwin
，
Humankind is generally good and Rutger tells the story of why in a great way！ We can believe in human kind even if we hear a lot of shit
Chris Caps
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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 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。 。。。more
Igor Watanabe
，
It is a good， optimistic， read in a non optimistic world。 I liked the debunking of overly used psychology experiments。 However， the 'solutions' for ending racism and other negative-isms sound a bit too naive for me。 It is a good， optimistic， read in a non optimistic world。 I liked the debunking of overly used psychology experiments。 However， the 'solutions' for ending racism and other negative-isms sound a bit too naive for me。 。。。more
Hila
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BRILLIANT BOOK。 fantastic if you want to start reading more non fiction
Mary Keen
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Really interesting ideas about"Homo puppies" but my life is too hectic to concentrate enough now。 Only got to ch 12 （part 7 of 11） before had to return to library。He has many examples of hopeful thinking but somehow the extreme selfish and uncaring actions of the recently past administration and followers， （in addition to hitler and similar evil dictators around the world）， diminish all Bregman's happy， positive talk 。 I'm writing this several weeks after reading， so need to refresh the positive Really interesting ideas about"Homo puppies" but my life is too hectic to concentrate enough now。 Only got to ch 12 （part 7 of 11） before had to return to library。He has many examples of hopeful thinking but somehow the extreme selfish and uncaring actions of the recently past administration and followers， （in addition to hitler and similar evil dictators around the world）， diminish all Bregman's happy， positive talk 。 I'm writing this several weeks after reading， so need to refresh the positive feelings i remember。Audio @ regular speed 。。。more
Maittri
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I'm here because Ben Barnes recommended this。 I'm here because Ben Barnes recommended this。 。。。more
Hassan Ah
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What I like most about this book is that the author is a really good writer and story teller。 Every chapter begins with an interesting anecdote from many scenes throughout history。 Even if， in my opinion， his arguments are not the strongest， he makes up for it with his charm and charisma in writing。
Reuben Wood
，
I loved this book。 Rutger Bregman is a wonderful writer， and just as I did Utopia For Realists， I found it as enjoyable and engrossing to read as a good novel。 The premise of this book is hugely ambitious and I have never read anything more convincing of our innate kindness and compassion as a species， despite tackling issues such as racism， war and the holocaust。 As convincing as it was， a key principle of this book was; think for yourself。 Ask questions and always be willing to learn more。 As I loved this book。 Rutger Bregman is a wonderful writer， and just as I did Utopia For Realists， I found it as enjoyable and engrossing to read as a good novel。 The premise of this book is hugely ambitious and I have never read anything more convincing of our innate kindness and compassion as a species， despite tackling issues such as racism， war and the holocaust。 As convincing as it was， a key principle of this book was; think for yourself。 Ask questions and always be willing to learn more。 As a result， I often found myself questioning what Rutger was putting forward。 I have written down many of the key arguments， case studies and facts that I found interesting， to further research and check the arguments for and against them， before blindly following them as gospel。I feel my main takeaway from this book - I hope - will be to continue to try and understand people before blindly criticizing them， because at the end of the day most people are simply trying to do what they think to be the right thing。There are many more things I could say about this book， but I think that's enough。Can't wait for the next one。 。。。more
Eliyahu Grietzer
，
ספר מרתק ומלא תקווה， שחושף אמיתות， אוסף דובדבנים （cherry picking） ומעורר השראה。האמת העיקרית שהוא חושף הן שספרים וניסויים שטענו שמתחת למעטה התרבותי הדק שלנו שוכנים יצורים אנוכיים ואף סדיסטיים ורצחניים， נוצרו מפרי הדמיון במקרה טוב， ובאמצעות זיוף ניסויים במקרים אחרים。 למרות שבחלק מן המקרים מדובר בזיופים， הפרזות ושקרים שכבר היו ידועים ככאלה， לא היה בכך כדי למנוע מהם להפוך לאבן יסוד בתפיסת המין האנושי - דרך ספרי הלימוד בפסיכולוגיה， העיתונות ואף מדיניות שהתבססה עליהם （למשל באשר לניהול בתי סוהר）。 ברחמן ספר מרתק ומלא תקווה， שחושף אמיתות， אוסף דובדבנים （cherry picking） ומעורר השראה。האמת העיקרית שהוא חושף הן שספרים וניסויים שטענו שמתחת למעטה התרבותי הדק שלנו שוכנים יצורים אנוכיים ואף סדיסטיים ורצחניים， נוצרו מפרי הדמיון במקרה טוב， ובאמצעות זיוף ניסויים במקרים אחרים。 למרות שבחלק מן המקרים מדובר בזיופים， הפרזות ושקרים שכבר היו ידועים ככאלה， לא היה בכך כדי למנוע מהם להפוך לאבן יסוד בתפיסת המין האנושי - דרך ספרי הלימוד בפסיכולוגיה， העיתונות ואף מדיניות שהתבססה עליהם （למשל באשר לניהול בתי סוהר）。 ברחמן גם מתייחס לשאלה מדוע זה כך， כלומר， מדוע אנחנו מאמצים בכזו קלות תפיסות פסימיות， מופרכות ככל שיהיו， אך דוחים כלאחר יד טענות מבוססות היטב， על בחירותיהם המצפוניות של רוב בני האדם ורצונם בטוב。אלא שמכאן， לעניות דעתי （זה לא תחום העיסוק שלי）， לוקח את זה ברחמן הלאה， רחוק מדי。 הוא חוזר לתפיסת "הפרא האציל" של רוסו， תוך האשמת דרכינו הרעות בחקלאות והעיור שהחלו לפני 10，000 שנה， ובעצם， במקום לראות בציווליזציה המודרנית את הדבר שהפך אותנו לטובים ומיטיבים， הוא טוען את ההיפך מכך。 זאת， ללא בסיס מספיק ואף בניגוד לרוב מה שאנחנו יודעים על חברות שבטיות בהווה ובעבר。 הוא משתמש בטיעון הכמעט דתי לפיו כל מאות החברות הפרימיטיביות הקיימות כיום כבר "הזדהמו" בהשפעה מערבית， מה שלא מאפשר ללמוד מהם מה קורה בחברות לא מערביות。 בכך הוא מנסה לבטל חלק גדול מן הביסוס לכך שמדובר בחברות בהן רמת האלימות הממוצעת， גבוהה במאות אחוזים מאלו המערביות （כולל המאה העשרים！）。ניתוח ציווליזציית אי הפסחא， לפיו לא אלימות הדדית הביאה לדעיכתה （הראשונה）， משכנע ומבוסס על ממצאים。 אלא שההסברים המקובלים， שטוענים את ההיפך， מבוססים קצת יותר， מה שבא לידי ביטוי דל מדי בספר。את הספר הוא חותם בהצעות מעניינות באשר לאופן בו אפשר לנהל ערים， בתי ספר， ומדינה שלמה， תוך שהוא מתבסס על מקרים מעוררים השתאות。 תחושתי היא שגם שם הוא בחר דובדבנים ונמנע מלציין מקרים הפוכים וכן את המגבלות של החלת רעיונות אלו。 。。。more
Nicola Craddock
，