The release date for the English version of 'Humankind: A Hopeful History' by
Rutger Bregman is Jun 2020. If you enjoy this novel, it is available for buy as a paperback from Barnes & Noble or Indigo, as an ebook on the Amazon Kindle store, or as an audiobook on Audible.
From the groundbreaking author of Utopia For Realists, a compelling case that human collaboration and inherent decency have been the main contributors to our success
If there is one fundamental idea that has guided best-selling author Rutger Bregman's thinking throughout his career, it is this: every progressive idea in history, from women's suffrage to the abolition of slavery to the ratification of marriage equality, was once viewed as radical and dangerous by the majority opinion of the day. He uses the concept of humanity to challenge one of our most ingrained beliefs, which is that people are inherently self-centered and greedy.
Bregman aims to demonstrate that humans are, in fact, evolutionarily wired for cooperation rather than competition and that our innate tendency to trust one another has a solid evolutionary basis dating back to the earliest Homo sapiens by offering a fresh historical perspective on the last 200,000 years of human history. Bregman methodically refutes everything we know about the Zimbardo jail experiment, the Milgram electrical shock experiment, and the Kitty Genovese "bystander effect."
Instead, he presents little-known true stories: the story of the twin brothers from South Africa who were on opposing sides of apartheid and joined forces with Nelson Mandela to bring about peace; the group of six shipwrecked children who managed to survive for a year and a half by cooperating; the study conducted after World War II which revealed that as few as 15% of American soldiers could actually fire at the enemy.
Humanity's ultimate objective is to show that, while capitalism and communism have not been shown to be viable social systems on their own, there exists a third option: providing "citizens and professionals with the means (left) to make their own choices (right)." Bregman contends that reorienting our thinking to include high standards for our fellow humans will lead to long-term success. With his characteristic humour and candour, Bregman conveys this concept, once again enabling ordinary readers to understand and appreciate economic theory, social science, and history.