{"id":11283,"date":"2021-05-30T16:36:41","date_gmt":"2021-05-30T16:36:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/?p=11283"},"modified":"2021-05-30T15:59:59","modified_gmt":"2021-05-30T15:59:59","slug":"challenging-belief-that-man-is-by-nature-selfish-greedy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/challenging-belief-that-man-is-by-nature-selfish-greedy","title":{"rendered":"Challenging belief that man is by nature selfish, greedy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press<\/a> – Uganda<\/a>. <\/strong><\/span>Humankind, A Hopeful History is the title of a fascinating book by renowned Dutch author Rutger Bregman which I received as a present from my sister-in-law, Ms Alice Azabo, who is based in The Netherlands.<\/p>\n

I have been engrossed in reading the book for a couple of weeks. Originally written in Dutch, the book was translated into English by Elizabeth Manton and Erica Moore.<\/p>\n

The book challenges the common belief that human beings are by nature selfish and governed or driven by greed and self-interest. Locally the despicable, offensive and shameless behaviour, utterances and misdeeds of Uganda\u2019s corrupt and morally decadent ruling clique lends credence to this belief.<\/p>\n

From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Dawkins, the negative view of human nature is deeply rooted and embedded in Western political thought. It reminds me of concepts such as, \u201cthe state of nature\u201d and \u201cthe noble savage\u201d which I learnt during first year Political Science lectures at Makerere University, in a compulsory course taught by Prof Ali Mazrui.Bregman, a prominent European historian, advances a relatively new argument, that it is realistic as well as revolutionary to assume that human beings are naturally good.<\/p>\n

The human instinct to cooperate rather than compete, to trust rather than distrust, has an evolutionary basis which goes back to the origins of our species. Assuming the worst of others, as most African leaders routinely do, affects interpersonal relations, politics and economics.<\/p>\n

The 465-page book is divided into five parts: Part 1 – The state of nature; Part 2 \u2013 After Auschwitz; Part 3 \u2013 Why good people turn bad; Part 4 \u2013 A new realism, and Part 5 \u2013 The other cheek. The prologue to the book titled \u2018A New Realism\u2019 begins as follows:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a book about a radical idea. An idea that\u2019s long been known to make rulers nervous. An idea denied by religions and ideologies, ignored by the news media and erased from the annals of world history.\u201d In reply to the question: \u201cSo what is this radical idea?\u201d the author answers, \u201cThat most people, deep down, are pretty decent.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a practising Christian, I am not surprised by this \u201cradical idea\u201d because human beings, made by God in His own image, as Scripture teaches, must deep down be good and decent, reflecting the goodness, grace, mercy and love of their Creator who is perfect in every sense of the word.<\/p>\n

Part 3 is of particular interest to Uganda and African countries. There are three chapters under this part, titled: \u201cHow empathy blinds,\u201d \u201cHow power corrupts\u201d and \u201cWhat the enlightenment got wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whereas Niccolo Machiavelli, author of a classic work, The Prince, argues that \u201cmen never do anything good except out of necessity,\u201d Bregman provides a powerful and convincing argument in defence of the innate goodness and natural decency of human beings.<\/p>\n

Bregman argues that human beings are not savages, irredeemably greedy, violent, unreliable and rapacious species as Hobbes, Machiavelli and many Western political thinkers argue. He challenges the very premises upon which cynical and negative ideas about human nature are based and offers a beacon of hope for a desperate, frightened and unhappy world.<\/p>\n

How power corrupts<\/b><\/p>\n

Bregman begins this chapter by reminding us of Machiavelli\u2019s formula for acquiring power written in The Prince, a manual for tyrants. \u201cIf you want power you have to grab it. You must be shameless, unfettered by principles or morals. The end justifies the means. And if you don\u2019t look out for yourself, people will waltz right over you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Avid readers and practitioners of Machiavelli\u2019s philosophy include Joseph Stalin, Adolf Hitler, Winston Churchill, Benito Mussolini, Napoleon, and many African leaders.<\/p>\n

Bregman concludes as follows: \u201cTo believe people are hardwired to be kind isn\u2019t sentimental or na\u00efve. On the contrary, it\u2019s courageous and realistic to believe in peace and forgiveness.\u201d (p.380). As a Christian, I agree. Let us keep hope alive.<\/p>\n

Mr Acemah is a political scientist and retired career diplomat.hacemah1@gmail.com<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Uganda. Humankind, A Hopeful History is the title of a fascinating book by renowned Dutch author Rutger Bregman which I received as a present from my sister-in-law, Ms Alice Azabo, who is based in The Netherlands. I have been engrossed in reading the book for a couple of weeks. Originally written in Dutch, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":11282,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,8],"tags":[233,240,234],"class_list":["post-11283","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-files","category-homepage-english","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-uganda","tag-uganda"],"yoast_head":"\nChallenging belief that man is by nature selfish, greedy - Uganda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Humankind, A Hopeful History is the title of a fascinating book by renowned Dutch author Rutger Bregman which I received ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/challenging-belief-that-man-is-by-nature-selfish-greedy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Challenging belief that man is by nature selfish, greedy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Humankind, A Hopeful History is the title of a fascinating book by renowned Dutch author Rutger Bregman which I received ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/challenging-belief-that-man-is-by-nature-selfish-greedy\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Uganda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-05-30T16:36:41+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2021\/05\/img-60b3b65cc6e85.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/challenging-belief-that-man-is-by-nature-selfish-greedy#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/challenging-belief-that-man-is-by-nature-selfish-greedy\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Challenging belief that man is by nature selfish, greedy\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-05-30T16:36:41+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/challenging-belief-that-man-is-by-nature-selfish-greedy\"},\"wordCount\":668,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/challenging-belief-that-man-is-by-nature-selfish-greedy#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/uganda\/sites\/34\/2021\/05\/img-60b3b65cc6e85.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Uganda\",\"uganda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"files\",\"homepage-english\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/challenging-belief-that-man-is-by-nature-selfish-greedy#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/challenging-belief-that-man-is-by-nature-selfish-greedy\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/uganda\/all-news\/challenging-belief-that-man-is-by-nature-selfish-greedy\",\"name\":\"Challenging belief that man is by nature selfish, greedy - 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