The good guys are winning

One of the most striking, and under-appreciated features of humans is their facility for cooperation and altruism. It is under-appreciated because we are constantly exasperated by news of problems which seem to illustrate a propensity to NOT cooperate and instead act selfishly. This can lead to pessimism and apathy, which is damaging. 

To counter this pessimism we need to remind ourselves constantly of two things. Firstly, that the vast majority of humans on the planet are good people like us, who want to do the right thing. Secondly, that despite what seems like a blizzard of examples of human cruelty and selfishness, the basic direction of travel is ever-increasing cooperating and ever-increasing improvement in the way we treat our fellow human beings and the planet as a whole. The 'good guys' are winning and, despite losses along the way, they will almost certainly win in the long run.

Why do I think we are winning? How can I claim this in the face of all the evidence of the harm that humans do to each other and to other species? 

One reason is that our treatment of each other has continued to improve and is now better than it has ever been. The evidence for this is overwhelming. Cruel behaviour that was previously common and widely tolerated has become much less common and in some case has been eliminated. For example slavery, torture, racial discrimination, violence towards children, the death penalty, public executions. Of course bad things still happen, and there are periods where there is a big increase in this behaviour, notably during war, but the direction of travel is very clear. For those still skeptical I recommend Steven Pinker's book The better angels of our nature, which documents the remarkable decline in violence in human society. 

A second reason is that the level of cooperation amongst humans has also continued to increase, despite occasional setbacks. What is the evidence for this? The most compelling evidence is economic growth, which has, despite setbacks such as the global financial crisis, continued across the world. Increases in economic activity can only happen when there is an increase in productivity and this comes about through the twin processes of specialisation and exchange. Specialisation means that we  as individuals do what we are best at rather than doing everything. Take, for example, farmers who produce all they consume, but for whatever reason are much better at producing wheat. Because they are good at it they can produce more using fewer resources and in less time than others. However if they were to concentrater on wheat production they would produce more than they need and not produce other foods that they need to survive. However if other farmers agree to produce these other products and exchange them for the surplus wheat the problem is resolved, and everyone is better off. This process requires people to make complex arrangements with, and become very reliant on, each other. It implies considerable trust since those not producing essential items, such as food, could starve if those producing them fail to supply them. Since specialisation and exchange require and therefore represent cooperation, and are essential for increases in productivity, it follows that sustained growth in economic output can only come about through increases in cooperation. The fact that economic output is higher than ever is strong evidence that cooperation amongst humans has never been greater than it is now. 

Of course many types of economic activity are harmful in some way and so could be considered evidence of increasing selfishness. However this is compensated for by activity that is beneficial. Furthermore, as we learn how to mitigate these harmful effects, the proportion of activity that is harmful is continually decreasing.