DEVIATION

In his worldwide research, historian Rutger Bregman comes to a surprising conclusion: human beings are, at their core, good. Could it be that we mistrust ourselves unjustly? What if, in the crucial moments of our lives, it isn’t a malicious, barbaric nature that emerges, but a fundamentally good one?
Bregman supports his thesis with impressive examples:

In October 1939, Hitler ordered his generals: „The ruthless use of the Luftwaffe to break the British will to resist.“ Experts warned of panic and violence. They predicted that in such exceptional situations, humans would „descend several steps on the ladder of civilization. The city will slip into total chaos.“

On September 7, 1940, German planes reached London. Over 80,000 bombs fell in nine months, and a third of the city was destroyed. However, instead of chaos, the Canadian psychiatrist Dr. John MacCurdy observed: „Children continued to play, customers haggled, and police officers nonchalantly directed traffic.“ Solidarity outweighed fear. People later recalled a t ime of unity, „when everyone helped each other, and it didn‘t matter whether you were left-wing or right-wing, poor or rich.“ The attack was horrific – but it brought people together. The British will to resist was not broken. Despite these findings, the Royal Air Force insisted on responding to the attacks with counterattacks. During these bombings, ten times as many people died as on September 7. However, in Germany, mass panic also failed to materialize. People reported a strong sense of social cohesion: they came together and stood up for one another.