Humankind

Let me start by saying that this book rips to shreds all those negative theories about human behavior we learned in social psychology back in 1977. Bregman looks closely at the science behind those negative theories that arose from research long ago, and he discovers lots of flaws in the way the research was conducted. The author shares, in addition, lots of the research and anecdotes that support his idea that most humans are basically good. And he is able to explain the terrible things that have occurred throughout history in a way that supports this idea, noting that these occurred, in general, by people who thought they were doing things to make things better.

Some of the things I took away from the book:

Most guns are not fired in battle (only about 20% are).

To destroy racism, people need to be around a diverse group of people.

Power does corrupt good people.

The twin brothers and Nelson Mandela story.

Oslo prisons.

Julio Diaz and his mugger.

Agora, the school.

Not empathy but compassion.

Elinor Ostrom and her findings.