In many ways, I have seen these past few months as a catalyst for an emerging, meaningful culture, one which focuses on human rights over capital & sees human beings as an inherently good species. If you are an avid viewer of the news, chances are that your first reaction would be to scoff at the idea that humans are "good," and to be honest, I had the same reaction at first. In short, it is really hard to believe that humans can be good when they are living in a society that systematically makes people act selfishly & individually, and more people are realizing this for themselves. But a small truth is contained within that dreadful last sentence, one which has been discussed since the Enlightenment and studied heavily over the past few decades, is that the system itself is making people bad.

Once you realize this, you are able to see true human nature for what it is -- cooperative and united -- rather than the artificial, Hobbesian human nature imposed on all of us since birth. I recognize this seems like quite the radical, Rousseauian idea, but this idealistic point of view is slowly becoming the most realistic in today's culture. And it is all thanks to the growing concern about what to do to fix or remove these corrupt systems, as well as wonderful writers such as Rutger Bregman (from whom many of my ideas are taken), who have gathered books of information to support such ideas.

It may have become clear by now that not only do I believe the corrupt & oppressive justice systems should be uprooted, but also the ideological system that degrades humans to just being evil & selfish individuals. Obviously, the former is much more prevalent and important, but that doesn't mean addressing the latter is useless. In fact, in many cases this "selfish human" ideology ties directly into why people support bastardized systems such as the police, often seeing people doing good and assuming that it is for their own benefit rather than actually acknowledging the good.

Essentially, I am arguing that due to the massive social movements that have been taking place over the past few months, more people are finally starting to realize how corrupt some of our systems are. Once we recognize that the system is faulty, it frees up our mind to grapple with what to change, while also putting forth the idea that humans are good until they come into contact with such systems. Once we realize that humans are inherently good, we're then able to address why people have thought otherwise for so long, and in turn, hopefully find new ways to view and change those same corrupt systems that sent us down this path in the first place.

Not only will this idealistic ideology help you understand today's problems, but create a more respectful society in general. Humans have a tendency to act how you tell them they will as long as they genuinely believe it, placebo (or nocebo), and to treat you how you treat them, non-complementary behaviour. For far too long, people have been told that humans are inherently selfish and that civilization is the only reason why we're even somewhat civil. Of course, if you tell someone that they, and everyone else, are selfish or evil, and face them with believable proof, then of course they will act inherently selfish; this is nocebo in action. And if you treat your neighbor as if they have no good in them at all, then they will most likely treat you the same way; this is non-complementary behaviour at a large scale.

Now imagine how much would change if this was simply reversed. Instead of convincing people that humans are bad, we show them why humans are good. Instead of assuming the worst in people, we assume the best, and thus receive it back. Being this trusting, you are obviously prone to scams and people trying to rip you off, so what should you do about those people? Let them scam you! Psychologist Maria Konnikova argues that it is much better to accept and account for the fact that you may occasionally be cheated in her book, "The Confidence Game." The aforementioned Rutger Bregman says, "that's a small price to pay for the luxury of a lifetime of trusting other people."

Once again, I feel the need to state that there are more pressing issues in today's world, most of which I assume you are already well aware of, and grappling with the subjectivity of humanity will not inherently solve all of these problems. At the very least, it may allow you to treat others more respectfully and cause you to consider new perspectives which can help reshape all of unjust systems in place. By looking at the world with this lens, you are able to see the wholesomeness that's been developed through recent Protests, the group of people all acknowledging that they and the others Protesting with them are there for good, and nothing else. They are all there as one cooperative humanity to peacefully address the system which has been destroying this cooperativeness.

Subnote: You may have realized that I subscribe to the unpopular belief that humanity is good, and that this article is written through this lens. I did not dive deep into why I believe this because I am not the person who developed this system of thought. Instead, I worked to try to apply this school of thought to recent events. My perspective on this matter was almost completely shaped by Rutger Bregman's newest book, "Humanity: A Hopeful History." If you are interested in reading more into it, I would highly suggest that you pick up the book and give it a chance. Bregman wonderfully argues his thesis that humans are decent for the most part by debunking many contrary studies, such as the Stanford Prison Experiment & etc., as well as bringing many real-life examples to bolster his ideas, such as The Real Lord of the Flies.