494: Rutger Bregman | Humankind: A Hopeful History

Rutger Bregman (@rcbregman) is a historian and author who has published five books on history, philosophy, and economics. His latest is New York Times bestseller Humankind: A Hopeful History.

What We Discuss with Rutger Bregman: How crises like the London Blitz during WWII and the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina tend to bring out the best in people rather than the worst. Why a crisis that forces us to isolate rather than connect with each other as a way to cope (like the COVID-19 pandemic) may make some of us behave counter to this tendency, but not most. The evidence that prevails against veneer theory -- the idea that humanity is only buffered from acting on its vilest and most selfish instincts by the thin veneer of civilization (perpetrated by those in power throughout human history). The negativity bias vs. contact theory: how we can counter the effects of past bad experiences with others by increasing our exposure to diversity. How a real-life Lord of the Flies incident disproved the thesis of William Golding's fictional counterpart and showed how six shipwrecked schoolkids cooperated to thrive on a remote island for more than a year. And much more...

Full show notes and resources can be found here: jordanharbinger.com/494

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