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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 พ.ย. 2020
- Are humans evil? Rutger Bregman on 'veneer theory'
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How have humans managed to accomplish significantly more than any other species on the planet? Historian Rutger Bregman believes the quality that makes us special is that we "evolved to work together and to cooperate on a scale that no other species in the whole animal kingdom has been able to do."
Pushing back against the millennia-old idea that humans are inherently evil beneath their civilized surface, which is known as 'veneer theory', Bregman says that it's humanity's cooperative spirit and sense of brotherhood that leads us to do cruel deeds. "Most atrocities are committed in the name of loyalty, and in the name of friendship, and in the name of helping your people," he tells Big Think. "That is what's so disturbing."
The false assumption that people are evil or inherently selfish has an effect on the way we design various elements of our societies and structures. If we designed on the assumption that we are collaborative instead, we could avoid the "self-fulfilling prophecy" of selfishness.
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RUTGER BREGMAN:
Rutger Bregman is a historian and author. He has published five books on history, philosophy, and economics. His books Humankind (2020) and Utopia for Realists (2017) were both New York Times bestsellers and have been translated in more than 40 languages. Bregman has twice been nominated for the prestigious European Press Prize for his work at The Correspondent. He lives in Holland.
Check his latest book Humankind: A Hopeful History at amzn.to/2HVX4nV
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TRANSCRIPT:
RUTGER BREGMAN: There's a really old theory in Western culture that scientists call veneer theory. The idea here is that our civilization is only a thin veneer, only a thin layer, and that below that veneer, sort of real raw human nature resides. And that when something small happens-or big, you know we're in a crisis or in a pandemic right now-that humans reveal who they really are, that deep down we're just selfish. We are beasts. We may even be monsters. But luckily, we have this civilization that is basically protecting us from what we really are. Now, this idea, this theory, veneer theory, is very old and very dominant in Western culture. It goes all the way back to the ancient Greeks. You also find it within Christianity, Orthodox Christianity. Think about St. Augustine talking about the notion of original sin, that we're all born as sinners. And you also look at modern capitalism. And again, I think the central dogma of our current capitalist system is that people are selfish. So this veneer theory, it comes back again and again and again in our history. And I think the only problem with it is that it's simply wrong. So in the last 20-25 years, we've seen so much evidence accumulating from anthropology and from archaeology and from biology and from psychology and sociology with one main message which is that basically, deep down, most people are pretty decent and that this capacity for cooperation is actually our true superpower.
Human beings have evolved to cooperate. If you ask the question, what makes us so special? Are we selfish? Are we very smart? Are we very violent or strong or powerful or whatever? What is the reason that we conquered the globe? Why not the bonobos or the chimpanzees? And I think the answer is that we have evolved to work together and to cooperate on a scale that no other species in the whole animal kingdom has been able to do. So, on the one hand, we're the friendliest species in the animal kingdom, but on the other hand, we're also the cruelest species, right? I've never heard of a penguin that says, ""Let's exterminate another group of penguins. Let's lock them up in prisons. Let's kill them all."" These are singularly human crimes. One of the disturbing things actually if you study the history of warfare and of genocides is that these things are often highly moral phenomena. It's not as if there are a lot of sadists thinking, ""Oh, we just enjoy killing other people."" You know, those people do exist, but they're very, very rare. Actually most atrocities are committed in the name of loyalty, and in the name of friendship, and in the name of helping your people. That is what's so disturbing. It's really the dark side of friendliness. If you study soldiers, German soldiers in the second world war, and you ask the question, why did they keep on fighting in 1944, in 1945, even though it was clear they were going to lose the war? Well, psychologists back...
Read the full transcript at bigthink.com/videos/are-human...
Do you think that humans are evil by nature?
Yes,good and evil people. Humans born by their Planet.
I think, that when times are good, most people* are kindly: when times are hard, the sense of commonality contracts, first from all to ethnos, then down through nation, politics, class, family, and finally to the naked "I" that has only the imperative to survive at all costs.
* There are always outliers; monsters, sacrifices or saints.
Humans are complicated creatures. We all have the potential to commit "evil" deeds. But ultimately we are a reflection of our surroundings. Communist Russia and Nazi Germany came about because of great suffering. Serial killers most often had the worst imaginable childhoods. The worst criminals are often the biggest victims.
But ultimately humans are animals that are wired to ensure their own well being, and we are no crueller than mother nature that plague us with nocturnal predators, poisonous plants, disease, parasites and natural disasters.
So if humans are evil by nature, then that's because nature is evil.
YES! Yes yes yes, a thousand times *YES!* for heaven's sake YES. I experienced it first hand in my whole damn life.
@@sanjanewmoonlife There is no such thing as a good person or a bad person. All people are born with the capacity to do good or do bad and they keep that capacity throughout their lives. Being "good" or "bad" is a choice that all of us make every day of our lives.
Ants in an ant colony are much better at cooperating than humans are. And ant colonies engage in genocidal warfare against other ant colonies of the same species. Chimpanzees sometimes do this too. We are not so unique after all.
Humans are "unique" in the sense that we have the highest intelligence. However, all the tendencies of animals still apply to us.
Ants cooperation is a very low basic level. He is talking about our evolved cooperation that created everything we have. Humans have beaten literally every other species both extinct and non extinct to the optimized cooperation goal. Typing on youtube is evidence.
@Emmerich August The definition of "cooperating" doesn't exclude hive minds.
Nature is the manifestation, the incarnation, the mirrored reflection, of mans consciousness... humans have the DNA of every single species on earth ... that is why every other natural life form has characteristics that are ‘like’ Man
Ants have individual minds. An individual ant can pass the mirror test, indicating that she recognizes that she is looking at a reflection of herself.
very evil. most people just dont realize it. we all think we are good but we overlook a million evil acts every day.
True
@UNLUCKY humans hide alot of it and rationalize it i think then outa sight outa mind. i also think people are realy good at just not noticing how evil certain things are because its "normal".
but i guess thats part of being human. if we evolved from chimps it makes sense. they arent exactly the nicest 😂
alot of times im an asshole and dont even realize it till much later. then thats the times i catch it. how many times do we not even notice. and not just an asshome but actual evil.
humans rationalize and ignore most of their own evil to an insane degree.
And most people get away with them.
Wrong. Most of us don't want to accept it
i love the negativity bias
Some people don’t realize that they are actually sheep, and evil.
The villain in the story rarely sees themselves at the bad guy.
Which is why I think humans are villains because humans rarely see themselves as the bad guy, which makes me think that humankind is more delusional than what we can see or want to see
@@random_corner5376 humanity is evil
@Antonio Rizzo are you religious because I'm Muslim bro and the Devil is depicted as a evil evil psychopathic monster but he just didn't do anything wrong because he didn't want to bow do to a mortal creature because they are inferior to him which is understandable now God got mad at him for not bowing down to first humans so he was exiled to hell he was right for not bowing down to humans because the did many horrible things humans did over time God really does need to give the Devil a second chance
I'm the exception then. I always knew I was the villain, even of my own story. I just wish there was a hero inside who can slay me.
@@YubelLord1 every religion has failed in this Earth people have turned against each other because of religion divided us and teared us part.
Human history is one population replacing another for land and resources.
not the most compelling or provocative narrative I have to say Josh
Actually no.
"one population replaying another" aka Generations
That’s at the behest of elite rulers that want to obtain more and are willing to let the “little people” fight wars for land and resources through the use of blatant propaganda that creates an enemy and most people fall in line and begin to hate the others that the elite want them to hate. This clearly is not an absolute, and many people are xenophobic and simply hate the “other”. But would these people be willing to fight and kill those others without the elite from these countries and kingdoms creating massive enemies so that they are willing to die for that land and resources? Not many throughout history I’d say. That particularly applies to the past few centuries.
@@GoldenRetrievers4President exactly, if it was "natural"that humans are blood thirsty little monkeys institutions who enjoy the benefits of war and violence (armies, governments, corporations, etc) would not have to spend so much money on propaganda.
Don't forget all the cruel atrocities we commit to non human animals on a daily basis.
@Tm260kyz we are cruel but theres usually always a side of good reflect in us too. Im sure someone cares about deeply, for example parents of close friends. Reach out dont suffer alone. :)) i agree we've had a cruel and tough history or abusing others but i believe we can slowly learn from all our mistakes and change for the better.
@Tripstarkayz2 i am sorry for you brother. i neither stop you either encourage you.
Yes and probably not as intelligent as we think we are.
I think these generations of late have gotten a sense of over self-assurance that wasn’t there before. I blame MTV:p
Other creatures know what to do, how to live, where to go. Its in their genes, - the information/the consciousness about their lives is written in their genes. They dont need maps or compass in order moove around the world - the know where to go. Humans dont know - we tell stories. Stories about why we live, what to eat, what to do etc. Our superpower is knowing nothing,- it makes us invent and tell stories.
@@cryptocovered4729
Dawkins coined the term "meme" to mean sort of an unquestioned (while untrue) cultural building blocks,
such as "time is money" ....we just say it and accept it.
Money is worth absolutely *NOTHING* when compared to time.
like, literally nothing at all.
The classic Dunning-Kruger effect
How do u say a species is not intelligent ? Wat is intelligence wen it comes to species ?
Good and evil are too simplistic terms to put on complex beings, nevermind that they are also completely subjective in the end.
But if humans are evil, then we deserve no compassion, and it would be morally right to destroy us. And that includes a lot of "evil" starving children in the world.
Replace "evil" with hedonistic and irresponsible, and I think things get more interesting.
Evil can NEVER be used to stop evil! It's the lesson we haven't learned. Exterminating those that practice evil only establishes its efficacy. To wield evil is to be evil. Love is the only force that heals.
Look at babies and then as they advance to the toddler stage dancing with total unself-consciousness to music. That's happiness. That's joy. No matter what their heritage is, no matter what color their skin is, no matter what country they live in...they will move and smile and respond to the music with ease. There is no evil baby. That sweet little human being would have to be conditioned to be otherwise.
Our intelligence required protein to exist... so after you've sparked one on that, in my feed I just had Diamond Head, who had their song Am I Evil covered and made famous by Metallica. "Am I Evil, Yes I am. Am I Evil? I am Man, Yes I am."
evil covers hedonistic, dangerously irresponsible, pernicious, and depraved.
probably a few others, too.
just an umbrella term...don't be triggered by a useful word.
"amoral" is the theoretical basis of a "criminal"
@@bpalpha
"love does not imply pacifism" -Jensen
“The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either -- but right through every human heart -- and through all human hearts."
- Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Jesus is Lord
@@Knightx392 no God is the lord bro
"Good" is delusion. "Evil" is reality.
“You see I’m not a monster, I’m just ahead of the curve” - The Joker
Yes, but some people are almost completely altruistic and some others (3%) are psychopathic. And it is the latter who are adept at manipulating the rest of us, in order to grab power and drive us towards dystopia.
95% yes. A kindhearted person is like finding a rare jewel these days.
The new generation forgot how to be generous or refuse to pass the information when it comes to the desire to be kind nowadays people are directing their thoughts somewhere else it has to do with that social media....... I don't know if it's most or some the people on the same like they were 20 30 year ago
@@mr.schwinn2976 idk about that. Long time ago women, homosexuals, etc had no rights. They mostly do now in western countries. So idk, I simultaneously think we're going in the right direction and who knows, maybe love and compassion will truly spread all over the world one day.
I think if you purposefully try to hurt someone, that’s evil. Also, hurting or taking advantage of more vulnerable people or animals is evil as well
Hahaha you have the most basic understanding. You really haven't been through much in your life by clearly.
Paintball players constantly hurt each other on purpose and by your logic they are all evil. Same with boxers or fighting sports. You hurt to win.
Your understanding is so damn basic it hurt my brain to even read.
I believe you definitely take advantage of some animal inferior to you. Have you eating meat or fish? Wear any of their fur or pelt?
Also you'd never survive as a primal human in the days before domestication, guess they were all evil to keep warm with fur and meat
Idiot
@@ThetaTrolling wow, calm down dude, when it says about "taking advantage of inferior animals" it's about killing for no reason, like haunting, it's not for feeding purpose, it's for collecting.
And about "purposefully hurting you", you used two examples that people are okay with getting hurt, it's both consensual
@@EsKeleto2507 You just changed the meaning of a sentence. If it meant something else, he wouldve said something else. You calm down, and think logicaly. Also the last sentence u said is incorrect eating meat isnt consentual
@@ThetaTrolling well, he just wanted to summarized, I thought of an example of his explanation.
Seriously? Did you read my comment? I said you used two examples where PEOPLE agree to get hurt, that it's consensual. I didn't say eating meat it's wrong
@@EsKeleto2507 1. He did not say “non consentual” or even mention it so you cant assume thats what he means. I use english literally not emotionally so cannot say to me “hold this” and expect me to know you really said “dont hold this”. Lol.
2. The part about eating meat is non consensual. Did u ask the cow to die for you?
We know we are evil. We readily accept this in regarding our destructive capacity on nature, when we acknowledge our inability to obey the most basic and reasonable moral restrictions, and in how swiftly our hatred and anger are kindled at the smallest provocation. Look at the patience and dedication it takes to do good, and how quickly it is ruined by evil on a whim. A long and good marriage can be destroyed by "temptations" in an instant - but where are the temptations to do good, and preserve it? Our conscience is an uncomfortable burden driving most people into states of anxiety and depression because they simply can't do what they know they should. Looking back to evolution is just a distraction, keeping us from focusing on the results of our immorality here and now - and what inevitably arises from the selfish, hateful, wrathful, lustful, and prideful living we love to boast in. Or you can say "it's all grey" and go back to sleep. But the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem.
I disagree, we tell ourselves we are bad by default so we don't have to question our lives. Why did the holocaust happen? well humans are just waiting for a moment to reveal our true nature. When we think this way, we don't have to question what structures were in place to make this happen. Our society was built on the notion that humans are crappy beings, but its actually the cause of those problems, in the words of jean jacques rousseau, "Civilization is a hopeless race to discover remedies for the evils it produces.” I think if we restructured our society on the belief that humans don't need the threat of force to be good we could actually be good. I mean time and time again, when destruction strikes and the authorities fail people rise up and help each other, Katrina, Britain during Nazi bombings, Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Its only when people from the outside interfere and exploit them in their time of need do they turn on each other.
@@oflynn_flowerchild1412 "When we think this way, we don't have to question what structures were in place to make this happen." Who made those structures, though? Humans did.
"when destruction strikes and the authorities fail people rise up and help each other, Katrina, Britain during Nazi bombings, Hiroshima and Nagasaki." Again, humans caused those events.
" Its only when people from the outside interfere and exploit them in their time of need do they turn on each other." And this perpetrates an 'us vs. them' mentality, those on the inside vs. those on the outside. We are all one human race, but unfortunately our history is dominated by the same song and dance of humans turning on and destroying each other. Yes, plenty of people will help one another, but more often than not we will resort to destruction and self-inflicted conflicts (that is, humans creating problems for their own race).
@@Doomblade3890 I don't think it would be the majority
@@Doomblade3890 like ants?
My god you are spot on!!!
Humans are not evil for the most part, Humans are survivors. Its the environment that causes the negative motivations and behavioral patterns we see. Despite what people tend to believe, there no such thing as ( Humans Nature). From before we are born, we are effected by the stresses, the environment in which our mothers, are experiencing. Then we grow and are compounded by those stresses and systemic ideologies, which in-turn shape our thoughts, opinions, behaviors and motivations. If we were to change the environment, to say one more beneficial to all people. You would see a change in behavior, among the people in that new environment. The first generation, of a new environment may hold some old tendencies form the previous system but as time progress they too will adapt to the new environment. Subsequent generation would be completely adapted to the new environment.
Seperation of the Esoteric from the Exoteric
However, you do make a good point..
That environment that causes it, is capitalism..
@@stiofanofirghil1916
Really no matter what country you reside in, every ism use pretty much use the same system, Banks & Money. Which in turn creates the same type of environment that motivates all of the negative motivations and behavioral patterns we see.
That generates all of the unnecessary suffering that we witness.
@@PunkSolar22x but yet no one can imagine and existence without money... it’s seriously pathetic!
we live in a reality where the thieves and the liars are rewarded while the good are put down its just the way it is
there is no such thing as "the good" everyone's a little bit crazy
Humans are inherently selfish. And inherently empathetic.
That can be good or evil.
We are social animals.
Cooperation and mutually beneficial relationships have proven to serve our selfish needs.
Empathy can be used to manipulate or bully people
or it can be used to help people
As you said, We inherently feel threatened by those different from us.
But it’s environmental and learned factors that teach us what 'different' is.
It's up to us as a society to cultivate cooperation and benevolence in each other
Real. That is why it is so hard to legislate away racism.
the concept of self is indoctrinated.
Lol 😂
Take a realistic look at the world, and you see that it is nothing more than a pyramid scheme, with people from the top fighting to stay in the top, and people from the bottom fighting to climb up and take over.
"Sympathy without empathy is blind; Empathy without sympathy is dangerous."
I heard this many time ' the world be better place to live when human being will gone
And now after exploring the world a little bit i think its true
We all should’ve die in 2012😒💯💯
You guys are so negative and it is a bad act to say that we all should die,you definitely need a therapist and you are probably depressed.
Define evil? That’s the problem, definitions. Ask ten people what evil is and you’ll get twenty definitions.
Lol. So true. It seems that evil is a term people use for what they detest. For every man there is his evil...
One might have different definitions but, we all know Evil when we see it.
911 was an act of Evil.
Auschwitz and the Death Camps were Evil.
US Slavery and later Racist Segregation are Evil.
Torture such as carried out in the CIAs "Black Jails" is Evil.
Throwing Brown kids into cages is Evil.
One might go on indefinitely, but few could argue with describing the above as Evil.
The problem is that in EVERY SINGLE instance above, there are/were defendants and participants who use Morality to Justify the Evil acts. In many, though not all, Religious beliefs are used to Justify what any objective person can easily see as Evil.
There's a story of a Lincoln Cabinet member, who began life as Moderately anti-Slavery. Elected to Congress/the Senate, he met all these Graçious Southern Men and Women and began to feel that he might be wrong. After all, these were good people, weren't they. Then one Sunday afternoon, he and his wife took a carriage ride into the Virginia countryside. Thirty minutes later, they returned home convinced Abolitionists. Not 30 minutes from Washington, they encountered a "train" of Naked Slave girls, estimated that their ages were 9-14. They were being whipped and dragged along with a chain around their necks as the Men dragging them liberally used the whips. When he later confronted his White Southern "friends", they happily informed them that this was NECESSARY to "Civilize" the Slaves.
The Northerner saw those Children as Humans; the Southerners saw them as Animals.
And we need to be clear that, to this day, Racists STILL do not see others as, as Human as them.
Capitalism operates on EXACTLY the same principle as that - Workers are not as Human as the Wealthy.
Imperialism operates on the same principle. There's Never been an Empire in Human history that didn't see the conquered as less Human.
And when it comes to War, the FIRST thing Every belligerent country does, whether they are the Aggressor or not, is DEHUMANIZE the opponents.
Evil comes from a point blank refusal to see the other as, as Human as us!
Definition of evil:
A person that is destructive from the start (from nature) and cannot be redeemed (improve) equals an evil person.
If our beliefs about ourselves and others are TOO HARSH and our lives are TOO DESPERATE (basic needs are not met), we might loose our way into destructive behavior that some call EVIL
If we "sow" positive beliefs in ourselves and our peers from childhood, and cooperate to alleviate suffering and injustice, we might FIND OUR WAY into a GOOD life...
Must we be able to completely define something in order for it to exist? I reckon we can come to a pretty solid consensus. Maybe we won't agree on every aspect, which is why laws and social mores are constantly being updated. I just think we should be careful with this sort of rhetoric, because moral relativism is a dangerous game to play. We may not be able to define evil, but if that leads us to believe that it doesn't exist, we're in trouble.
@@busylivingnotdying well said.
Humans are the most cruel and kindest creature at same time, two sides of same coin.
No one is Good not one, Only God
@@Knightx392 nah not even god”if God is all-powerful, He cannot be all good. And if He is all good, then He cannot be all-powerful. And neither can you be.”
It is the us/them mentality that defines our moral behaviour.
The more we see everyone as "one of us" the better we will all be.
The problem is that today, human evolution doesn't punish individuals with a disposition towards noncooperation.
Don't we do that though?
We have to decide which culture has better ethics, which is the west for the exception of the.religious nuts in the mostly southern US, then lay down laws. Get rid of churches, ban assault rifles, ban religion and ban recreational drugs. Get rid of racists, groups like ANTIFA, COVID deniers, flat earthers, ; just your all around attention seeking lowlifes.
Sorry if you're offended now go add yourself to that list.
Humans cannot survive without cooperation. Some individuals will cheat to gain personal advantages, but they still need to cooperate with human society to survive.
Problem is that people in the West have way too much all the time to think and overthink.
I'm not sure if evolution would be a good thing at all. Evolution could actually be seen as the devil from a cultural perspective. People who can't handle a situation die and the others make it. That is very fascist when you think about it. Why is it a problem to not let evolution decide what lives and what dies? But the true false assumption of yours is the belief that anything social is genetic. It's not. There is no geneticially inherited knowledge. You learn what the world is and who you are over the course of your life. You keep changing the entire time. If you think about how all your body's cells even die and get replaced multipe times over the course of your like, you're quite literally a different person every couple years. The transition is just very slow. The guy who you share memories with from when you were a kid is long dead.
Humans have been going trough these phases -> ancient humans - gangs - big gangs - big gangs with money - country's - just money. We've been fighting each other for most part of our history. We are just like animals.
Wrong,animals don't make war
Are animals*
@@estudiopersonal1020 You ever heard of ants? Bees?
@@estudiopersonal1020 they do, Especially ants
@@Kunosachiaka You won't find any war-making species among the vertebrates, save for ourselves.
Cruelty kinda comes with intelligence. Look at dolphins. They're the second cruelest animal behind humans, and also almost the smartest
Same with chimps and orcas
I agree, I don't know where the myth came from that intelligence is synonymous with goodness
In the case of humans, at least, it goes both ways. We have people who are capable of acts of altruism that most only fantasize about. And people who are capable of such depravity we shudder at the thought. It seems to me that intelligence lends itself to a capacity for extremes. Not necessarily just on the bad side.
@@AgxntOrangeexactly
Animals are cruel, more inteligence means more ways to be cruel, like humans are so cruel that we created laws to stop cruelty, and most of the times the cruelty dont stop
People in general all over the world today, as in ancient times, long to "do what they want", "say what they want" and live how they want" without any kind of accountability and without any consequences, and many times without regard for or at the expense of others.. if that doesn't tell you how selfish, self centered and self serving people are in the essence of their "nature" then I don't know what does!..
Yes, people have the "ability" to do good acts and treat others fairly or well on occasion, but given the choice of "them or me" many (not all) will choose themselves and their own interests everytime! ..
Mankind most definitely is NOT inherently good, but rather inherently selfish and wicked beyond measure, and the world we live in today is evidence and a result of it.. and getting worse day by day! The world not only has a "sin" issue, but it has a tremendous HEART issue, from which all other issues flow!
This deserves a million like
I've got 65 years of experience that says, "YES!" And it's time we left this beautiful planet so it can heal.
Nope this is just about as pushing your sexuality on everybody else
Hey nobody is stopping you...
Ok boomer
The fact that your 65 years of life experience have caused you to be so cynical about human nature is regrettable, but you should consider that many peope your age (and older) don't share your vision, so just because you've been around for a long time doesn't make you an autohority on what life is really all about. Now some people may be more optimistic than you because they've been lucky enough to have been spared the uglier parts of life-good for them I guess-but many others have endured terrible things and yet have arrived at completely different conclusions. I know people who come from wartorn countries, lost most of their families in genocide, were systematically assaulted or abused by their parents, etc. If people who have lived through that are able to see the good in others, so can you.
@@paulgreen2401 Naive? I literally mentioned genocide lmao. Do I need to be more specific?
Believe me, I know more than enough about the dark side of human nature, but the fact that great evil exists does not mean that to answer the question "are humans evil?" in the way OP did is in any way a healthy attitude towards life. Misanthropy is a sickness.
Humans, along with cats and monkeys are some of the very few true sadists in nature. cats torture mice prior to killing them for amusement or eating, and humans... its pretty self explanatory. The scariest and deadliest threat is also our greatest tool and aid: our mind.
Cats cannot be sadists because they don't experience empathy.
@@keithhunt5328 well, there are some up things up to debate, but there are theories that cats cannot feel much empathy, or any, because of their inferior intellect, so in a way, you are kind of correct.
Orcas can be very sadistic as well, and they most definitely feel empathy.
@@KayentaRojo yep. It’s similar to the principal of how the higher iq you have the more likely you are to be depressed. The smarter the animal is, the more capable it is to be a piece of garbage. Chimps, too. They do some screwed up things.
@@Plazzy-ec7kw yeah it's crazy, orcas, dolphins, chimps and humans are basically the most intelligent species and also the cruelest
Rutger, I know you mean well. And your views are anchored in a fair thickness of facts and reasoning .
But if, as an experiment, you immersed yourself in the roll of a very vulnerable person (financially poor, disabled, and in related situations where you are pretty obviously vulnerable),
and then put yourself at the mercy of one person at a time, or one small nest of people at a time,
over the course of a year or two, ...
your views would change.
People are not who they imagine being.
People are not who you generously imagine them being.
And this applies to doctors, nurses, social welfare agency workers, govt agencies whose literal job it is to safeguard the rights and interests of the vulnerable, random people in cherished rolls like parents and community volunteers, etc..
- All the people we'd expect to rise to certain social ethical challenges with practiced ease.
It's so rare to meet an actually decent human being whose real character isn't a monster waiting to be easily summoned to the surface at the smell of vulnerability (worse yet: at the smell of vulnerability + self-worth).
In my nearly 50 years on this planet, I doubt I've ever met a single one of the people you think are the norm.
It's possible I've met a few, and I just didn't get a chance to see them pass true tests of character. But I know for fact that most people are monsters.
This is absolutely the truth. Most humans are trash when nobody is watching. I've seen it over and over and it's drove me Into isolation
@Greenery Certainly. Especially humans who are in groups. They become ridiculously stupid
but for some reason we all think we are the exception. "Everyone is a monster" what about your mom, or wife, or kids? are they monsters too, what about yourself, are you a monster? We are so fast to turn on the world, but when it comes to our brothers and sisters, they are just misguided, or its the cycle of abuse and they weren't always this way. Do you know why this is? Its because we can't empathize with the whole world, but we can with the people we are closest to.
@@oflynn_flowerchild1412 Dont lump me in with "we all" Im not part of your society and what yall think. I do know most domesticed humans are monsters. I certainly am not, and have always monitored my morals and thoughts throughout my life unlike others. I can empathize with the world and not just those close to me. However right now is not the time to be doing so because it does not work. Ill say "i love you all" on facebook and people will reply either scared saying "is something wrong?" Or saying its cringe or something. But nobody will ever think to just say Love you back. And so I stop sharing my care with the world over time, they dont deserve it you see. This is how I understand it, and until the rest of the humans can step up to the plate they will suffer as they already are, and keep complaining about it lmfao its comedy to watch and also painful to watch.
@@ThetaTrolling You seem really young. You've got the attitude of an emo.
IMO, if a human being lacks a conscience watch out! The only thing that keeps a human being from committing atrocities and hurting other human beings is the presence of a conscience, because laws and punishment (our criminal justice system) nowadays is sadly a joke.
Actually the only thing that keeps humans from commuting atrocities is the fear of consequences
@@SleepyJoe639 thats true. But conscience make effort too
@@SleepyJoe639 i don't think many people would commit homicide if there was no consequences
@@aurin_komak totally agree, consequence aren't stopping anybody from attempting homicide. Once someone wants to kill someone else, they're gonna do it regardless of the aftermath.
Laws are joke but it can still cause problem if someone doesn't have right connection. So, most people doesn't want to get into trouble and follow laws.
I'm with you. Those toddler experiments with the researcher struggling to open the cupboard. I love it. When I was very small I wanted to bring home clochards, bathe them and give them fluffy clean clothes. I was four or so.
Not by definition, yes we are evil and good.
Depends on rules defined.
In general we r combination of both
If you're a combination of both then you're evil, because a good person is innocent and has no demons in him.
@@theearthisntflatpleasestop9899 we are humans, we do mistakes therefore we are capable of doing things.
If you can do the right thing then you can do the bad thing.
The only thing that prevents you from doing bad things is your principle.
But mistakes are important in order to try therefore learn who you are and what principles mean something to you, but I can assure to you the society and government rules only make you afraid of doing bad things but when you have a chance to do bad things you will try as long as you don't have your own principles.
@@TruthSeekerClub Principles are a crutch for evil people. If you purify yourself spiritual there is no room for principles, since you're innocent. People are not innocent, they are guilty. Only a person who is pure is a human being. A person that is impure is a demon.
@@theearthisntflatpleasestop9899 are you suggesting that you have absolute wisdom and power over yourself?
And you should not care for others if you wish to be pure, you only have to watch yourself and take care of it and be proactive not reactive, otherwise you will be result of your life.
So back to purification, when you are proactive you will do what is right no matter what happen in life because it's the right thing and that's good point to start with to say I am good person.
Even tho I thought a lot about it I still consider myself a human who strive to learn and grow, and I know how inaccurate to say I am 100% good.
Because it's a puzzle and things are changeable.
Another point to the subject, sometimes we don't know we are wrong when we think deeply about our actions and thoughts.
@@TruthSeekerClub Only someone Realized like Ramana Maharshi is a good person, everything else is just cheap imitation of goodness, rooted in selfishness.
Desperate situations make good people commit evil deeds.
You are wrong
@@alexanderp7521 explain yourself?
"You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain"
well i mean not all good people
Life is competition. It started with every one of us when we won the race to the egg and became humans. Then we compete for resources and status when alive and those who don't participate in the game basically get into their place and nobody cares about them. Some see how they lost and are at the bottom of the hierarchy and choose to die or never procreate or even when trying they won't succeed because by natural selection they won't find partners.
Life is brutal and there is no hope. There is only efficiency and everyday mental wars to be better than others even in cooperation.
Watch a room of two and three year olds. No one has to teach them to lie or steal a toy or hit.
Not all, but many are selfish and simply don't care if others are injured as long as they get what they want. That is evil.
That's why high status people have a higher chance of being psychopaths
are you evil?
Need a definition of evil? Just wait.... when you experience it you will get it.
Makes sense
no you fuckin won't. there are defintiely very black areas in these but there are grey too and we need hard definitions to identify what parts of those types of situations were "evil" and while experience help it can also color your world view and cause you to be more biased towards a certain type of evil then others. shouldn't our definition of evil be as logical as possible?
Hey, it's Rutger! He's pretty well known among intellectuals in the Netherlands, especially for his pieces on basic income. I love the journalism platform he works for, The Correspondent. They focus on long term trends and avoid 'breaking news'. They also recently started a US branch.
People probably are basically 'good'. Unfortunately, people are also very tribalistic. And I think that is where the two collide. We are good to those in our tribe, not so much to people in other tribes.
Exactly
All animals are potentially cruel, but humans have evolved to figure out more complicated ways to be cruel.
Yet, ultimately, whatever we do, we either do it because we think it's what we must do, or the only thing we CAN do.
Mr. Bregman I always appreciate exchanging ideas and learning new things and as you mentioned in this video to study I think it can help to a certain point but studying in a class room or gathering knowledge from a book is not real world knowledge. You also have to go into those areas to see it for yourself one thing I know for sure if people would be able to survive on a diet of weapons and guns and bullets no one would ever suffer from starvation.
time to start asking more complex questions instead of running around the basic ones that are thousands of years old
Like what?
@@evanbrooks8737 like, the concept of having to work to live, the concept that the word "lazy" is made shameful and that every person should live as a slave to this system and be proud of it.
The competitiveness ingrained into capitalist societies instills into younger generations that being polite or friendly is a weakness and something to exploit in others.
@*😎* care to elaborate?
@*😎* cant disagree with any of that though the lack of equal opportunity is also a massive problem.
"Am I evil?" Yes I am.
That’s funny, Bcs my mother was actually a witch, sadly she was burned alive.
Are you really
"Today I shall be meeting with interference, ingratitude, insolence, disloyalty, ill-will, and selfishness - all of them due to the offenders’ ignorance of what is good or evil"
-Marcus Aurelius
I can be good or evil, sometimes it’s not a conscious choice but as I grow older it does become a more conscious choice
Human nature is the major reason why there is so much pain and suffering in this world
Exactly we are all immortal by nature tbh
Nature itself is evil, we are a product of nature…
@@DimensionalGaming4 exactly. And the majority always chooses to act evil. Most just lie about it, which is again, evil.
It all because of our tribal instinct. We are friendly to others in OUR group, our community that share our views and ideals. But when another group of people comes along who are different we automatically become hostile to that group. We fear change, we fear insecurity. We are too afraid of things we don't know that it's easier for us to be automatically hostile to those things. We are selfish, it's in our nature. Cooperation is just a tool we use to survive
Very well said.
He mentions that in his book. But I don't think it's selfish, because your group isn't a "self", and people aren't in groups just to ensure their own survival.
I'm reminded of a quotation from Art Spiegelman's MAUS*:
"Friends? Lock them together in a room without food for a week - then you would see what it is, friends!"
* One of the best graphic novels yet written. Get it out of the library!
(edited for footnote)
This makes a lot of sense, given that it would be weird that we live in societies, and cooperate with each other, but deep down we are evil. Then how in the world did we start cooperating in the first place. The fact that our societies were built with this theory in mind is horrifying.
Necessity
@@estudiopersonal1020 For survival?
@@xicocunha4160 yeah? We were weak animals alone
@@EsKeleto2507 I get that we needed cooperation to survive but how do you cooperate if you are evil? If we started cooperating with the idea that we were fundamentally evil then it just seems weird that we would cooperate at all. I mean I myself, in a survival situation, would not cooperate with somebody that I don't trust and know that they would help even if they had little to gain.
@@xicocunha4160 oh yes, now I understand
We are capable of beautiful dreams and terrible nightmares. Too many of us are both good/bad 😔
I would say we are more capable of “beautiful nightmares” and to put it in laymen’s terms: what is favorable to us is unfavorable to the second party with good intentions made, but terrible consequences will follow suit. For example if I want to set up a business to help people, the good intentions are there but the business will be plagued with corruption that will evolve and the business will turn bad causing devastation with what started out as good intentions
Thank y’all for a nice video.
I experienced the evil of humanity in my life people are selfish they cause u harm for no reason in persuit of their own goals regardless of what pain they might bring and are not to be trusted or believed ! If u want good company get a dog and stay away from people.
I long for hearing more from Rutger in the years to come.
The Death of Socrates painting on the wall behind him illustrates all of this perfectly.
Yes we are all evil period
The degree of desire for personal satisfaction is measured against cause and effect relationships in society.
The constant drive for advantage, works alongside the constant drive to avoid disadvantage within the society.
Human emotions are designed to support this program. Thus, the constant search for satisfaction is focused on gaining advantages while, at the same time, defending itself from being disadvantaged. All human interactions occur thru this process.
Good and evil are determined by degrees of desire toward particular advantages and avoidance of disadvantages.
Nearly everyone is sadistic, I hate them.
On the surface their are good and bad people.But when people are given authority like in Stanford Prison Experiment,normal or kind people ,you can say, can turn into evil creatures.
We human have extreme desire to control everything,when given the chances we show our real faces.
Working with others is our basic need because we can't survive alone , empathy also plays important role in our progress as a specie,it is our necessaty, we hide our true selves.
Stanford Prison Experiment was rigged. The guards didn't become monsters naturally, they were _told_ to act like monsters. If they refused, they were threatened with getting kicked out with no pay.
Dunna man, bullying is a thing.
People hoarded food on the onset of the pandemic with no regard for their neighbors who might have to go hungry while they took more food than they needed. Just the most recent example of human selfishness.
I am a recluse and a misanthrope. While I acknowledge where the evidence points, I cannot bring myself to stop my feelings. I live in one of the best societies on Earth and I still can not bring myself to want to be a participant.
Wow...
Where do you live?
@@Talktopics2000 Canada
@@SumBrennus I am reclusive too I live in USA and I freaking HATE that society
@@Talktopics2000 I hate it too.
"Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction."
~Blase Pascal
I would argue for "ideological conviction" instead. This isn't limited to religion: people can get possessed by secular ideologies too, to the point that they gleefully murder those whom their ideology has decided is the enemy. For example: Marxist revolutionaries in Russia, China, Cambodia etc. seemed all too eager to kill those who were guilty of enabling the oppression and eploitation of the working class, i.e. their bourgeois oppressors and the class traitors who wouldn't join them in their revolt. This certainly isn't the only example of secular attrocities, but it's a striking one because Marxist revolutionaries were explicitly anti-religion.
@@Cephalonimbus The problem with that argument has always been regarding the ‘absolutism’ of a given ideological conviction. Religion, unlike Marxism (or Capitalism), asserts that god(s) will cannot be questioned, and this god “decides who lives and dies”, obviously, to them.
Marxists in those Communist countries you mentioned turned fair socioeconomic ideas, successfully implemented in the mixed economies (Social Democracies) of Scandinavia and elsewhere today, and democratically chosen as well - into violent class revolutions like the French revolution and other historic uprisings of the oppressed. Pol Pot, in fact, was a Buddhist and distorted that religion to suit his Fascistic demands. With Stalin, there are other religious influences involved that Christopher Hitchens famously explained better than I ever could here.
What you’re flirting with here is what’s known as the “Atheist Atrocities Fallacy”, often used to defend religion as “no SO bad” when it's blamed for racist RW Fascism, and rightfully so (Hitler!). I know you’re not doing that reflexively and maybe you’re not a believer or anything, but the main point is these Left-wing ideologies aren’t inherently oppressive in terms of how they’re structured, whereas religion absolutely is.
This is exploited by the current Fascists like Trump.
But yes, the political spectrum is a horseshoe shape, both ends lead to totalitarian rule. It's just Marxism isn't in any way a "mirror image" of Christo-Fascism, as we're currently seeing here in the U.S.
@@Cephalonimbus "The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated communist, but people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists." - ~Hannah Arendt
BOOM!
@@hadara69 The irony is that you're accusing me of the "atheist attrocities fallacy", when I never tried to mitigate the attrocities committed in the name of religion in the slightest. You, on the other hand, seem to do the exact opposite by claiming that the underlying belief structure isn't as inherently oppressive, which I would argue isn't that relevant in the first place because people can obviously take an idea that's relatively benign and may even have useful applications, and turn it into a totalitarian nightmare. This applies to the Hannah Arendt quote as well: people can get possessed by ideas to the point where the lines between truth and fiction begin to blur. This is precisely what people who lived under communism in places like Poland and Romania have told me: telling the truth was dangerous if it deviated too much from the communist ideals, so most people stopped doing it and just went along with the lie.
@@Cephalonimbus But in these countries, it wasn’t just about the new system, it was about a new “religion”, inherently oppressive by nature. Marxism is the idea; Communism is how it’s been implemented under totalitarian rule, historically. It’s at the extreme end of the political spectrum. Many here (usually RWers) conflate Marxism, Socialism, and Communism because they’ve been taught they’re all the same “crazy idea” (Left-wing), they are not.
Socialism is already working here in the U.S. we just don’t like to call it that. And as I said, mixed economies are doing fine. They use democracy to keep the totalitarian craziness in check, unlike here where Fascists are BOUGHT by our corporate overlords.
I think the real problem here has more to do with your misunderstanding of the Left. And knowing people who are terrified of Communism, like Latinos in FL, doesn’t somehow make it equal to Christo-Fascism.
I DO realize you’re not trying to give religion a pass, I said you were “flirting with” that fallacy because you’re saying (please, correct me if I’m misreading) “Communism is just as bad.”. And what I said was that this is an extreme form (horseshoe, remember) of Marxist and Socialist ideas designed to give more power to labor - and take some of it (at least) from the wealthy elite. A group who here in the U.S., definitely understand my OP quote and another I often drop about how religion is “useful” to leaders.
A society where “one not dare speak it” describes totalitarianism, not Socialism or Marxist ideas. You might even say that now about how DELUSIONAL Trump chumps are about the election results. Does “daring to speak the truth” jive with that crowd’s idea of “political correctness”? Heaven forfend one should tell the truth about their (your?) Lord & Savior, Trump, right?
So then, if Liberal ideas CAN be discussed openly, but Conservative delusions can’t be questioned, what does that make Trump chumpery?
Sounds like a religion to me…
No wonder he “fell in love” with Kim Jun Il (an ACTUAL Communist dictator).
Can you explain what is "extreme" about Progressive ideas like UHC or getting money out of politics? If the Left is "just as bad" in terms of its capacity to "inspire evil acts" like religion always has, what's so evil about taxing the rich more, raising the min. wage, or keep church & state separate, especially concerning reproductive & civil rights?
"CRAZY IDEAS", are they?
Or are you just religious and don't like what the quote implies? Fess up now...
that picture of Socrates to the right of Bergman's head is all of the trust I need for this man
It's the higher functioning parts of our brain (Limbic System and Neo-Cortex) that are the more loving and cooperative, and the more primitive area (R-Complex) where our more aggressive, violent, territorial and tribal behavior lies. As Prof.Carl Sagan once said; 'Our brains live in an uneasy truce'.
Yes they are. There I saved you 6 minutes.
I think we're naturally bad but I'm interested to see what the arguments are for us being good.
Nah man. I don’t know. I have seen people doing some nasty stuff stuff to others. People who will look so innocent at first glance.
as you mentioned from St. Augustine... to have original sin does not mean we are incapable of cooperating with others, nor does it mean we are incapable of doing good... please give more background in any future videos or work you do. I understand that the topic is hard to discuss, yet still its important to be specific with word choice
Humans are more evil than Thanos and Darth Vader
Lol yea
Thanos is actually a great concept.
Na we’re just evil.. people tend to eat their own children during famines
Animals do that too lol thats not even being evil sharks do that lions do that every species do that and lions do it even when they are not hungry
It's the circumstances that makes people evil.
Correct
Very appropriate timing.
We evolved as herd animals, only being able to survive if the entire group thrived. When humans lived in Eastern Africa we needed each other to survive, we hunted together, searched for food together, cared for our children together, we even cared for the sick and the elderly. Eventually this small group of max 150 individuals started to grow, and it started to encompass villages, cities, regions, nations and eventually the entire world. It's in our nature to cooperate with and care for other humans.
Hell yeah. Real talk.
Except that these countries/nations or groups of people are now against each other and don't falter to some xenophobic tendencies towards each other
It's also in our nature to win, control, and enrich ourselves, and for the evil ones, at the expense of everybody else.
Humans also have an inherited leveling system. Which makes people think they are better than others
I just started my channel to teach life skills and personal development. Hope I become successful like you! Thank you for inspiring me! keep this up!
At 3:40 he describes Tribalism - a human condition that allowed small groups to survive in the stone age but is cripplingly detrimental to society now.
This was great.
I was expecting he would mention "homo homini lupus" at some point.
We are selfish deep down, even the generous would become selfish if there wasn't enough resources for everyone to have enough. The ppl who give in to the selfishness easily are probably what we'd consider evil. Look at what we've done to other species, destroying their habitats just so we could have MORE. Some ppl realize that doing and being good does feel good to you and they prefer to be generous and helpful but it is dependent on resources and could change easily. Then others are raised to think like animals, in the moment and what they need and want is more important than anything. But looking at the powerful and how they MOSTLY just WANT IT ALL and they don't care if it means everyone else gets nothing. That is Evil, because they don't need anything, they just will take it all because they want it and that is a choice. A deeply flawed and wrong choice.
It's sad to see most of the comment section didnt even watch the video before commenting.
When you switch off the bright lights it is only dark for a short time, until you see the faint lights that illuminate your surroundings
this might just become my senior quote.
The majority of humans are good-hearted people as long as they have their needs met.
It is also based on the empirical fact which might be because we are ignorant or snobbery has made us like that ...that doesn't really present the philosophical concept . In other words , our whole practical life can be based on ignorance which the Indian culture basically cocnen about that we should be clear about what is real and what is illusiory . Perhaps, the old people who are close to their death might accept this fact they through out their life they lived a lie ...this considering human utilitarian or contractarian might not be the exact representation ...
@@metacritiqebyrajan11 I think you hit the nail on its head. Most of us do not understand the basics. No time, no capacity, no interest or no opportunity - so we are savages with modern technology. Sometimes we see the light. Other than that we are animals and act as such. The claim animals are any better is mistaken. They just do not have the tools. This is no different for males and females - only methods may differ slightly due to physical capabilities. So we are peaceful because we need not use violence in normal life. If the state files for longer times to ensure rule of law by which I mean standards that allow us to trust justice will be done eventually, then violence is used. You can see how it works in so called failed states. The savage ways are usually organized along tribal lines to limit the violence as no sophisticated tools are available violence is used freely also by chieftains.
Lol no. Sounds nice and partially supported, but falls apart under scrutiny.
Did all price gougers do so to fulfill a beed? Likely most of them didn’t...
i'm not sure about that...
My experience shows me that they are.
Which is why it's incredibly important to never rely exclusively on our experience. Being trapped within our own perspectives dulls the mind.
Is that really a question? "The cruelest species" CHECK! "The most deleterious species" CHECK ...need I go on. Interesting perspective though, thanks for posting. Cheers!
Bacteriophages might be worse tbh
Interesting video
I've had a "veneer theory" about the natural world for some time now. For all its outward beauty, underneath it is nasty and brutish.
After 26 years of experience I've realised that being evil is the way to go..things come at you way easier.. people respect you more and don't take you for granted..i don't know about the consequences in the afterlife though
If you go down this road just remember that one day you will pay for it.
Why do you think being good is so damn hard while being evil is just too easy?
@@a.d.c.3553 i don't think it's a choice anymore..if you do have a good heart then kindness comes out natural..its the bad people where they can redeem themselves by doing good deeds
Except there is no afterlife
This is exactly the point of the video. Things like you are a disgrace and Black spot in the world, the only solution is one which will get me arrested for saying it.
@@a.d.c.3553
hahaha no, evil people almost never pay for their actions, karma does not exist, it is just an invention to control human evil
territorial conflicts between animals of the same species often resemble warfare/genocide...when communication and trust are impossible, what we call 'evil' might actually be the only viable survival strategy...similarly, where trust and communication are a given, cooperative survival strategies may become viable options, but this does not mean everyone will choose to cooperate. perhaps what we should really call evil is when you pretend your hand is being forced, when in fact you're making a conscious choice. to suggest this is something only humans have to deal with is to ignore a lot of observational data.
also, to label empathy as the problem is incomplete...when we only have empathy for those we perceive as similar to ourselves is problematic, of course...but empathy is a double-edged sword; this does not mean it will always cut the wielder, only that it can when wielded without the proper technique. just because the way you naturally wield the sword prior to training is incorrect does not mean the skills to wield it properly cannot be developed. if you try to remove empathy from the equation entirely you'll soon find you have a lot more atrocity on your hands than we do now.
Cooperation and selfishness are not mutually exclusive. We cooperate for selfish reasons, we know we'd be worse off without cooperation. So pointing out cooperation does not disprove selfishness. I think the repercussions have been the biggest promoter of civilization. Wether they are legal, religious or simply being marginalized by the community, it's what's keeping us from showing our true colors. I'm not saying we'd all be serial killers, but selfishness would drive a LOT of evil behavior (think accumulating other's property by means of force).
There are good people but its really hard to find them. Most people suck. They only want something from you, not you. They don’t care about you at all.
True most people don't care about sympathy or empathy at all
Make everything about yourself like a true human lmao
And in the end, the bad guys take advantage of the good guys.
@@ElUltimoLeviathan7901 i think that most girls are just done with dating because the bad guys ruin it for the good ones
@@jonathanwilliams365 I didn't understand your comment, anyway what I said was joking I didn't mean it.
I do not believe in "good" or "bad" people, I believe that human nature is too complex to classify it in a dualism, as Carl Jung said "the only way to create a better society is through understanding the human condition and see more of a war between "good" and "bad"
In addition, the worst atrocities committed by human beings were by people who believed that they were doing good because when you say you are the "good guy" you have the greatest justification for committing atrocities, I read in a book called "the crimes of the good guys" that always the "good" will see the "bad" as the worst as monsters and will dehumanize them because they have to be, otherwise the "good" will justify their actions, when the bad guys commit massacres the good guys commit atrocities.
You might have the first reaction that most men are good because they themselves would not do harm as majority, but that isn't always necessarily the case because even that majority who does not generally do harm comes to a point where/when they turn a blind eye to harm being caused causing the same harm as those who do cause harm by default.
You want me to give you some examples?
Ok, let's start with Jade Helm. Obama announced the number one national security threat was a nuclear bomb being detonated on American soil and that, by the required classified law, they were preparing for it. He then moved NORAD, NORTHCOM, and the PENTAGON comms into the EMP War Bunker the Cheyenne Mountains. Well, if you map out nuclear fallout from an EMP as he prepared his military power, the north is frozen most of the year making it unsustainable a majority of the year without electricity (North Dakota gets up to negative fifty), the east coast would be primarily radioactive from nuclear meltdowns as reactor cores in America do not use passive systems and use diesel generators for backup when there is no electricity and they also require electricity, and then after lining up just two common sense factors you get the Jade Helm map of sustainable states in nuclear fallout from an EMP as where our defense powers are..in an EMP war bunker. Then DT built a wall on Mexico to protect that specific area of the border after nuclear detonation. The DOD and DHS said (Baker Statement) the US isn't responsible for protecting American lives from nuclear detonation on American soil and they're only in charge of protecting the Government's military power. That means they intentionally prepared for 90% of American life to die while 90% of the Government's military power is still operational while the Constitution is suspended indefinitely as it would be suspended under martial law until order could be reestablished but reactor core meltdowns last hundreds and thousands of years making that impossible and it takes 10 years to build a single transformer. Meanwhile, Biden is wondering why people think not wearing face masks are political...because we are at war by his own statements the other day. At war with who exactly? And who is a good person to say anything about asking anyone in America if they want to live while the Government makes you turn on each other over the 1% to kill the other 89% when you aren't paying attention.
How about the 2001 anthrax attacks. The US would jump up and down to blame another country. It's not in their MO to not take every opportunity to blame another Government or Group to justify anything they feel like doing after. The presidential kill list was on RT today. People are good enough to speak out about being put on a no fly list that you have no right to know how you got on it or to get off it, but they aren't good enough to speak out about not being able to know why or how they get put on a presidential kill list or speak out about requesting to get off of it. And so, in 2001 we can see that they can kill their own politicians if they don't agree with their policies and you can't ask if they put them on that list or why.
@@ToiletPaper2020 Obama is garbage.
Judging by the way people drive, the way people smoke in bus stops, and people dump their trash, they’re not mostly good.
I'd say that the challenge of our existence is to have the ability to choose between good and evil. Which one will you choose?
Isn’t that a good thing? To be able to choose?
I mean, I’d hate it if I couldn’t choose my own McDonald’s meal
@@tristan4386 For sure, I'm not trying to say that it's objectively good or bad, just that we should take hold of our ability to choose and use it well. Just trying to bring a level of seriousness to the task of being alive. You get me?
@@SpirallingUpwards yup lol
That explains the TP hoarding
I think this is easily the most important video I've ever seen from BigThink to date. Definitely worth passing on. Well done. 👍👌👏✌
You fell for it???
@@gardenjoy5223 bregman's not wrong tho
@@aurin_komak You fell for it then...
"Most "evil" people think they are on the right side of history"
Though it was only mentioned in passing but Original Sin has deep theological and complex meaning, and it is not about that we are evil inside. It is rather that we are capable of evil and are unlikely not to fall because of it
Idk if they are evil or not, but they are deffinitly annoying when they trespass in my woods
Finally someone stating the obvious, we do evil in the name of good. Thus only those aware of their ability for evil can be trusted to not do such a thing.
Do not trust anyone who has to claim loudly that they are doing something out of empathy, for they are not aware of the harm.it can bring.
@@paulgreen2401 people who claim they’re empathetic are the most evil the people who admit they’re guilty of doing evil and admit theyand don’t brag or even think about themselves are the most trust worthy
@@paulgreen2401 if that’s the case I would never trust you in a billion years because you don’t deserve to be trusted if that’s what you think of yourself
The overwhelming empirical evidence from all of recorded human history points to a pretty compelling conclusion to the question posed in the title of your video.
State of society and lack of responsability make people bad
There worst things then that
Yes, but the most effective cooperation that human beings are able to show is precisely in organizations such as corporations or during events such as wars. Whether it is competing or fighting, the goal stays the same - outcompete or outfight. When you are defining human nature, or the nature of any other species, it makes more sense to concentrate on what you can observe i.e. "how humans act" and not "how/what humans think". Since they're acting on their thinking, whether as individuals or in groups, it doesn't make much sense to present their thinking as a polar opposite to the doing part.
Also, the proposed hypothesis of "When people think everyone is selfish, people design society around that assumption" is pretty simplistic and weakly presented/defended here, not to mention that the final message of "alternatives could bring egalitarianism and democracy" seems as both unrelated to the subject and like wishful thinking.