40. The delusion of human selfishness (and the role of the media)

We have been conditioned to believe an upside-down narrative about the human condition.

We are told a false story about a species with an intrinsic selfishness that has to be checked with laws and top-down control.

But human beings are inherently kind. If no outer force meddles with the social dynamics, people treat each other with respect and kindness.

For millennia we have been living in a gloomy dream. As if the movie ”The Matrix” were a documentary. It’s, frankly, outrageous.

The Dutch historian Rutger Bregman brilliantly unveils the lie in his book ”Humankind”. It should be compulsory literature in every corporation and every authority.

The untrue image is reinforced by the media. The news media narrative is practically based on the false assumptions about human lowness. News requires drama, conflict and speed, which filters out the big story: a slowly but incessantly evolving humankind.

The good news I bring here is that I believe we are in fact leaving this false narrative, this toxic mindset, behind.

About the media’s negativity bias: Listen also to Ulrik Haagerup, episode 6.