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boneloose's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
Absolutely one of my new all-time favorite books. Full review to come!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide and Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Rape, and Suicide
Holocaust is discussed fairly often. Rape mentions (for hardcover US edition, published June 2020): In the chapter about Hurricane Katrina pages: 190, 261, 339, 371 Eating disorder: Page 199. There's a discussion of calories and weight gain in a negative light that may trigger folks struggling with an ED Suicide: Page 333mar's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
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 skeptical 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.
It was also very interesting, seeing my own instinctively skeptical 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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Genocide, Xenophobia, and Torture
rosenaughtin's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
I reached for this book after reading an excerpt from it in The Guardian, "The Real Lord of the Flies." That story in itself was captivating and I was intrigued by Rutger Bregman's thesis: that humans are, in large part, communal, helpful, and decent. The book was super dense, informative, meticulously researched, and full of interesting and hopeful anecdotes about humankind. Bregman takes many examples from history that show our alleged intrinsic brutishness -- such as the Stanford Prison Experiment, Milgram's shock experiment, and the death of Kitty Genovese -- and explains how these scenarios were largely misinterpreted by the media and the general public.
Bregman also shows how empathy can lead us to a greater affiliation with our "in-group," unintentionally putting us at odds with outsiders, and how this can be utilized by despots and dictators to encourage war, hoarding of resources, and racism. He argues that compassion is more effective than empathy in connecting with other humans - I would argue that his definition of compassion is very similar to "radical empathy," though he never uses the term.
Best of all, he offers solutions through examples, from corporations to prisons to governments. He argues that if we accept within ourselves that humans are mostly good, then we can utilize communication, confrontation, compassion, and resistance to challenge our current institutions.
Favorite quote: "If you believe that people are essentially good, you have to question why evil exists at all. It implies that engagement and resistance are worthwhile, and it imposes an obligation to act."
Bregman also shows how empathy can lead us to a greater affiliation with our "in-group," unintentionally putting us at odds with outsiders, and how this can be utilized by despots and dictators to encourage war, hoarding of resources, and racism. He argues that compassion is more effective than empathy in connecting with other humans - I would argue that his definition of compassion is very similar to "radical empathy," though he never uses the term.
Best of all, he offers solutions through examples, from corporations to prisons to governments. He argues that if we accept within ourselves that humans are mostly good, then we can utilize communication, confrontation, compassion, and resistance to challenge our current institutions.
Favorite quote: "If you believe that people are essentially good, you have to question why evil exists at all. It implies that engagement and resistance are worthwhile, and it imposes an obligation to act."
Content Warnings
Minor: Genocide, Racism, and Forced institutionalization
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