'how would your life and view of the world change if you knew people were good?' we are taught from early on that humans are selfish, self-interested beings. Through TV, in fiction, in the papers, every aspect of society and culture that has been build up around us reinforces this belief. It unites all sides of the political sphere, and has been reinforced by psychologists and philosophers, writers and historians over and over again. It drives headlines and the laws, society and governance. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Dawkins, the roots of this belief have been sunk deeply into Western conciseness.  In this book Rutger Bregman makes a new argument: one that it is both realistic and revolutionary. To assume that people are good. By assuming the worst of others, we bring out the worst in our politics and economics, creating policies that often fight against rather than work with people. But the instinct to cooperate rather than compete, trust rather than distrust, has an evolutionary basis going right back to the beginning of Homo sapiens.  by reanalysing some of the worlds most famous studies and events, he reframes them providing a new perspective on the last 200,000 years of human history. this book has a stack of great reviews and is a thrilling read, filled with optimism - a tonic for the times. “Here, we visit the blitz, Lord of the Flies – both the novel and a very different real-life version – a Siberian fox farm, an infamous New York murder and a host of discredited psychological studies . . . There's a great deal of reassuring human decency to be taken from this bold and thought-provoking book . . . It makes a welcome change to read such a sustained and enjoyable tribute to our better natures” –  Observer Written by Rutger Bregman How does it come? Softback. Approx. 19.5 x 12.5 x 3 cm. Approx. 470 pages