Are People Good Inside? (Read With Care)
Let’s get back to basics. I used to believe that deep down, people were good and they did things that made sense. But, lately I have been thinking that was naive.
Capitalism prevailed because it understood a very basic part of human nature – that we are all looking out for ourselves. It is a system where people compete against each other, with the winner creating the best product or service. And – I wonder if believing that people are not necessarily good inside is just a better way to go. Having this understanding of people is not based on a hope. It is based on reality – thereby creating a belief system that makes sense.
This question gets to the heart of another moral dilemma – is there evil? I used to close my eyes at the scary parts of movies. I used to give people the benefit of the doubt. But, now I am in the process of a forced-truth process – watching the news, especially with countries with crazy people in charge. I have been studying war and other chaotic times in history. I am reading about environmentalism and social inequalities. I have been thinking about what happens to everyone I know who has become a soldier, a cop or a social worker. That staring into the face of humanity, you start to become very jaded.
Some people I have shared this with have said that “I am saying that people are crap”. But, that is not it. Denying the bad in the world makes you blind to what is really going on. It makes you naive and confused. So – is it very negative to believe this about people – or does it relieve the sadness associated with being so frequently disappointed by them? A belief that people do things that don’t make sense all of the time. That people are confusing. I am not saying that goodness does not exist. It just makes it more amazing when you realize where it is coming from.
I’m of the position that every person in the world has the potential to do good and bad things with their lives. We are all faced with the opportunity to make the right and wrong choices and it is those choices that define us. And when we do make the wrong choices, it is our reaction to those choices and the responsibility we take for them that redeem us as people. No one is perfect, but people who are on the right track do their best to make up for the mistakes they make.