Blueprint

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For too long, scientists have concentrated on the negative aspects of our biological heritage, such as aggression and self-interest. However, natural selection has also endowed us with beneficial social traits, including love, friendship, cooperation, and learning. Beneath our inventions—tools, farms, machines, cities, and nations—lie innate tendencies that foster a good society. The author introduces the idea that our genes influence not only our bodies and behaviors but also the ways we create societies, which share surprising similarities across cultures. Through vivid examples, including historical and contemporary communities, shipwreck survivors, utopian communes, and online groups, as well as the social structures of elephants and dolphins, it becomes evident that, despite a history of violence, we possess a social blueprint for goodness. In an era marked by political and economic polarization, it’s easy to overlook the positive aspects of our evolutionary past. By integrating insights from social science, evolutionary biology, genetics, neuroscience, and network science, the narrative illustrates how evolution has guided us toward a humane path, emphasizing our shared humanity.