Rutger Bregman opens with his central, evidence-based counter-thesis: humans are fundamentally decent and cooperative by nature, challenging a long-standing cultural assumption of fundamental human selfishness and competitive self-interest.

Why this counter-thesis proves so significant:

• Widespread cultural assumptions of fundamental human selfishness have substantially shaped institutional design, policy, and social expectations across many domains
• Bregman's extensive historical and psychological evidence challenges this foundational assumption, with significant implications for how institutions and policies should be designed
• This opening establishes the book's central, evidence-based challenge to a foundational cultural assumption, motivating its subsequent detailed historical and psychological examination

This opening establishes the book's foundational, evidence-based counter-thesis regarding fundamental human decency, challenging widespread assumptions of fundamental human selfishness.