Reading Humankind by Rutger Bregman has left me both hopeful and deeply reflective—particularly in light of the state of modern corporations and the chaos unfolding in Trump’s America.
Bregman’s core thesis is deceptively simple: people are, at their core, good. Not perfect, but decent, cooperative, and wired for kindness. And yet, so much of our world—our institutions, our media, our political systems—runs on the opposite assumption: that humans are selfish, cruel, and in need of constant control.
It’s a belief that shapes everything. In the corporate world, it shows up in toxic hierarchies, dehumanizing performance metrics, mass layoffs as “strategic decisions,” and a relentless drive for shareholder value at the expense of workers and communities. Employees are often treated not as trusted collaborators, but as potential slackers who need to be surveilled, prodded, or replaced.
In the political sphere, we see it on full display in the United States. Trumpism feeds on fear—fear of others, of institutions, of democratic norms. It thrives on division and distrust. The assumption that people are fundamentally self-interested justifies authoritarian crackdowns, demonization of immigrants, and disinformation campaigns. If everyone is out for themselves, then power must be seized, not shared.
But Bregman shows—through history, psychology, and anthropology—that this cynical view is not only inaccurate, it’s dangerous. When we design systems assuming the worst in people, we get the worst outcomes. But when we build on trust, community, and mutual respect, people rise to the occasion.
So what does that mean for us?
It means rethinking leadership—not as control, but as service. It means designing workplaces where people are empowered, not micromanaged. It means building societies that assume dignity, not depravity. And it means standing up to political movements that thrive on dehumanization, by insisting on a more compassionate, evidence-based view of who we really are.
Bregman reminds us that the future isn’t predetermined—it’s shaped by the stories we tell about ourselves. If we want to create a better world, we need to start by changing the story.
Maybe the first step is this simple: believe in people again.