The book “Humankind – a hopeful history” is a very careful, deep-dive analysis into our human history from a modern perspective, with the aim to provide an answer to the longstanding question whether human beings are innately “good” or “bad.” Rutger Bregman, the 33 year-old historian, philosopher and bestselling author from the Netherlands, did a great job digging deep enough to bring about some surprising new insights and facts about our history. He analyzed research pieces, reports and historical events that paint the picture of humans being a selfish, aggressive and greedy species. By looking very carefully “behind the scenes” of cannibalistic behaviors, wars, psychological experiments, and criminal scandals, he discovers - even despite utmost cruel behaviors - evidence for our prosocial and cooperative nature. But why do we all tend to believe in a rather dark picture of our species? Ironically, it’s exactly our greatest evolutionary strength - our ability of social learning – that misleads us here and draws a one-sided, dark picture. This in turn evokes in us mistrust and aggression against each other, which leads to a self-fulfilling prophecy. At the end of the book the author details how we can get out of this spiral by consciously designing institutions and individual encounters based on trusting our natural goodness.

What were my three most inspiring insights?

Kelsi : 1) The reason humans exist to this day, as opposed to other species that have died off, is because we’re friendly! Evolutionary biologists call this “survival of the friendliest,” and it’s what has allowed us to survive millennia. 2) Infants and toddlers, studies suggest, have an innate bias toward fairness and cooperation, which goes to show that we’re hard-wired for good. 3) There are hopeful examples of institutions that have done away with the culture of greed and selfishness to empower people to follow in the direction of their own instincts and motivations. It sounds utopian and too good to be true - but it’s not!

Eva: There were so many! But I guess the most intriguing ones were those I was not aware of before: 1) We are born with a moral compass of goodness. Rousseau was right. It’s inevitable in our nature. Babies can seemingly distinguish good from bad already before speaking and walking. 2) Our evolutionary advantage is – surprise surprise: kindness and blush. Individually, we are a pretty weak species: we are not bigger and don’t have a larger brain than other primates. Only relating, cooperating and learning together make us pretty amazing. So, the ability to be kind, and on the other side, be ashamed if we’re not, is our true hard-wired evolutionary advantage. It guarantees relating and cooperating - our survival. 3) When switching from a nomad to a more civilized existence, protectionism was born. When traveling around in nomadic times, we naturally accepted sharing natural resources and land with others, treating them and mother nature with respect. Our prosocial and kind nature helped us all to survive. With civilization and property we implanted a feeling of superiority and the need to defend our property, which increasingly disconnected us from our true nature of relating and cooperating.

How does the content relate to today’s times?

Kelsi: I think Humankind is the right book for this moment. There is this narrative that, when a crisis takes shape, the cracks in civilization appear and people devolve into the worst versions of themselves. But this book shows us the opposite is true; when faced with a crisis, humans are indeed more cooperative, altruistic and caring. And when you look at the pandemic through this “rose-colored” lens, you find that poignant examples of people coming together to help each other out – delivering food to those home bound, donating supplies to frontline workers – far outweigh any negative stories out there in the world.

Eva: Bregman indirectly provides us with the reason for today’s increasing rates of burnout, depression, addiction, loneliness and other psychological diseases: Due to our underlying competitive economic system, in the past 100 years we were trained only to compete. This me-or-you paradigm has been an exceptional motor for welfare, innovation and growth, but at the price of disconnecting our true human nature of being relational and cooperative. Bregman helps us understand the hard way what we all have experienced during the pandemic: We are relational and cooperative creatures but hard-wired for a me-and-you paradigm. I personally think if we trust this core and play out our cooperative and kind strengths, there is much hope that we can master all the burning societal issues of our times.

How did the book change my thinking?

Kelsi: It completely changed my perspective on history. The history books teach us it’s all “doom-and-gloom,” that history is marked by nothing but turbulent times and horrific events. And while I’m certainly not denying our (very) dark chapters, history has predominantly and overwhelmingly been peaceful and good – it’s just that “feel good” stories and events don’t make it into the history books.

Eva: Reading the book broadened, of course, my view on our hard-wired cooperative roots. But maybe more importantly, it changed how I categorize my own thinking. Up to now I always thought I must live with the label of being a helpless “idealist” when believing that human beings are prosocial and good in their nature. Reading the book I realized that all who trust in the human nature to be “good” are rather the “realists” among us. It inspired me wherever I can to support such a thinking, to stand up for it and to promote all empirical evidence around it.

What did I appreciate most reading?

Kelsi: I appreciated that Bregman deconstructed and presented counter-narratives to studies and events we thought we knew. Take, for example, the Stanford Prison Experiment. Recent discoveries and evidence suggest that the experiment was a hoax, with the guards being coached on how to mistreat the prisoners as opposed to being driven by their hunger for power. These anecdotes and case studies - there are over 700 in the book (!) – not only present compelling evidence in favor of his argument that humans are actually pretty decent (puncturing the Veneer Theory that we’re all brutes), but reassure me that some things are not always as bad as they seem.

Eva: I must admit I normally stay away from historical books. But this one I truly loved reading. Bregman writes in a very catchy storytelling manner, artfully weaving in all research evidence. What I appreciated is that Bregman offers not only reasons for his thesis; in the last chapters he offers as well institutional examples where it paid-off and worked to build upon a positive view of human beings. He outlines a school, a company and a prison where it paid-off to trust our cooperative and prosocial core, as it helped grow humanity and efficiency in reducing costs.

What wisdom in this book will I use in my daily life?

Eva: At the very end of the book, Bregman outlines 10 very concrete rules for everybody who would like to more consciously live-up our prosocial nature, which I find all very helpful: (1) When in doubt, assume the best 2) Think in win-win scenarios 3) Ask more questions 4) Temper your empathy, train your compassion 5) Try to understand the other, even if you don’t get where they’re coming from 6) Love your own as others love their own 7) Avoid the news 8) Don’t punch Nazis 9) Come out of the closet: don’t be ashamed to do good 10) Be realistic. Personally, No. 1 – when in doubt, assume the best - sang particularly to me. I would say it is the most important one of the 10. So whatever happens, if we assume everybody has good intentions, our minds, lives and our world become radically much more peaceful as self-fulfilling prophecy power is put at work.

Kelsi: I hail from the land of the 24-hour news cycle, from FOX News to CNN, where we are constantly bombarded with sensationalist stories that stoke fear and spread misinformation. It’s so easy to get sucked in and feel depressed, anxious and cynical. To adopt this bleak view of human nature. But it’s important to know that these news organizations have their own agendas, and it’s not to report on world events, but to get more eyeballs. So my take-away for daily life is simple: turn off the TV! And believe in the generosity and kindness of my fellow humans.

My most inspiring quote

Kelsi: “An old man says to his grandson: ‘There’s a fight going on inside me. It’s a terrible fight between two wolves. One is evil–angry, greedy, jealous, arrogant, and cowardly. The other is good–peaceful, loving, modest, generous, honest, and trustworthy. These two wolves are also fighting within you, and inside every other person too.’ After a moment, the boy asks, ‘Which wolf will win?’ The old man smiles. ‘The one you feed.’”

Eva: “What is truth? Some things are true whether you believe in them or not. Water boils at 100 degree Celsius. Smoking kills. President Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas on 22 November 1963. Other things have the potential to be true, if we believe in them. Our belief becomes what sociologists dub a self-fulfilling-prophecy: if you predict a bank will go bust and that convinces lots of people to close their accounts, then, sure enough, the bank will go bust.”

Who should read this book?

Kelsi: The simple answer is: everyone. But it’s especially suited for those who are feeling down or finding themselves in a rut, thanks to the pandemic and life’s other challenges. You will walk away feeling inspired and – to borrow a term from the title – hopeful.

Eva: Everybody who is interested to understand the evidence for why we are rather a kind and prosocial species – despite all we hear in contrary. And particularly those, who once believed that but somehow have given up this belief due to the desperate news surrounding us. Above all, I would wish that teachers, journalists and IT-programmers read this book in order to NOT generate an ill-induced perspective about our nature, understanding their responsibility for the self-fulfilling prophecy dynamic as a consequence of it.

Those who have no time to read the whole book might be interested in an inspiring podcast and interview about Humankind to get a taste of both the book and the author, recorded in 2020 in the U.S.

Link: https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/talk-easy-with-sam/a-case-for-human-decency-by-yXHIoP24kV_/#episode

Marlene, thank you for taking the time to speak with us! As a start, can you please tell us a bit more about you? Where does your passion for sustainability and hospitality come from?

Like so many in my generation I came to a point where I could not accept that sustainability was something left to be cared for by others, I just wanted to make an impact myself!

For as long as I can remember I enjoyed travelling and discovering new destinations. With the feeling that a community of travellers with a conscious approach, such as myself, was increasing, I developed the idea of eco suites and just went through with it.

Can you tell our readers a bit more about eco suites? Why did you feel compelled to start the company and what’s your purpose?

ecosuites.travel is an online platform designed to present premium accommodations with a sustainable approach. We aim to support the eco conscious traveller in searching for a fitting hotel and shed light on accommodations that act sustainably. We carefully curate our collection of conscious hotels and are proud of presenting them to our community!

Personally, I aimed to take responsibility for contributing to a sustainable future. Once I had the idea for eco suites, I completely dove into it and wanted to bring it to life! I was convinced that luxury travel can be sustainable. Our purpose is to bring together the eco-conscious traveller with outstanding accommodations that share our approach and values.

eco suites has an impressive portfolio of hotels that are both stylish and sustainable. What makes your hotels “eco suites?”

We are proud to present hotels that are special in every way. Whether it is the design, the concept, the facilities or the team – our eco suites make luxury vacation dreams come true. The huge difference to many other hotels around the world is that they follow a highly sustainable approach and are committed to define modern travel. It is the combination of both aspects that makes them our “eco suites.”

To become an eco suite, what specific criteria and standards are you looking at? What is your process for selection?

We carefully choose every accommodation on ecosuites.travel. All accommodations featured on our platform meet at least five out of ten criteria that have been established as our eco suites standard. After careful consideration, our eco suites criteria have been adapted from internationally acknowledged standards for preserving the environment. It mattered greatly to us to also include criteria like “Female empowerment” or “Social impact”, to show the full range of what we believe sustainability implies.

At MAp, we too believe sustainability is the future. What are your hopes for the hospitality industry as it relates to sustainability in the short- and long-term?

My hopes for the foreseeable future are that the hospitality industry will continue to focus on implementing a wide range of eco-friendly measures, from saving resources to using clean energy. Many short-term solutions can be installed quickly and would have a huge impact on the environment. Speaking of long-term expectations, I hope that travel choices will be made carefully and will increase to focus on slow tourism, on getting to know the destination, its people and its culture.

As many of our readers are hoteliers: what are the 3 most important measures hotels should implement on the road to sustainability?

While every hotel and its guests are different, we do know what our community of responsible travellers is mostly looking for. In our experience, the measure with the highest direct impact on guests is the careful selection of food & drinks. Most exclusive travellers are keen on being offered local, seasonal and organic choices when it comes their catering. They are well informed and try to reduce their footprint with their shopping choices in their everyday lives and do expect the same from their accommodation.

Another measure that directly relates to the guest is the effort to reduce and carefully recycle waste. Many hotels are implementing recycling opportunities in each room or easily accessible in the common areas, and many guests are delighted to see the measures they are used to at home as an option in their hotel as well. Products without packaging are in high demand, and careful sourcing and recycling “behind the scenes” is mandatory.

We do strongly believe that happy employees are key to provide a unique and exceptional experience for their guests. A modern work environment needs to be implemented to include all aspects that sustainability contains. Fair working conditions, diverse perspectives and safety therefore should always be a priority. This is certainly the third measure I would recommend on the path to sustainability.

As always, our final MAp meets question is related to our core business, as we’re specialised in crafting innovative hotel concepts and brands: what makes a hotel experience a truly outstanding one for you personally?

A truly outstanding hotel experience for me comes with the people. Feeling at home away from home is what I am looking for, and that comes with attentive service. I love exploring innovative concepts, hotels that are brave enough to try something new and follow a unique path.

Dear Eva, can you please explain to our readers what you mean by “the human side of management” and why it is so important to you?

The human side of management addresses what is happening between people in business. Only when the relationship between clients, employees and partner is one of trust, shared values and a sense of belonging can the business thrive sustainably and successfully. Human relationships, however do not occur automatically just by a high quantity of interaction between people. In our todays’ social media world businesses striving for high connectivity seem currently underestimating massively the fact that increased digital interaction is not accompanied automatically with an increase in relationship quality. In fact, today more than 50% of customers change the brand due to a disappointing human experience in customer interaction. Digitization has massively increased the customer’s expectations towards the human factor of customer care. I am convinced that managers who understand businesses as a network of relationships between partners, and who shape them not only on material but also human values, will succeed.

We love your company statement: human facts – because business results are generated by human beings. This is so true. Why however, is this fact so rarely seen and realised by companies?

We as a society believe that emotions or human values, e.g. helpfulness, do not belong into our daily business environment, since they can hinder efficiency. In essence, many believe that humanity and economical action are incompatible. During my career I have experienced first hand that when numbers of the business have not been satisfactorily, human topics have immediately been deferred from the agenda. It was always hard work to re-establish trust, motivation and meaning, the human side of business, after such downturn phases again. This thinking of incompatibility is merely the result of an error in reasoning, that’s why I am working with companies and individuals to bridge this gap.

What are the consequences of this conflicting relationship between economic efficiency and humanity?

The consequence is that we see clear splitting behavior: At home I am a human individual and humanity is allowed. At work however, I need to be efficient and therefore leave my human personality at home. The only exception to this is in the context of corporate social responsibility programmes. As a result, companies are becoming increasingly soulless, inhumane with a meaningless work environment. This is a highly worrysome development, which we need to question urgently. It is completely absurd insofar, as efficiency and economy are principles inherent to our primal humanity. In its original meaning it means conserving resources and large parts of our body and mind work according to this principle. I also honestly do not know anyone who thinks that working inefficiently is great fun. Economics and humanity - that’s not only about how to combine them, it’s about acknowledging their interdependency. Nowadays we know that business success depends on trust, cooperation, learning and innovation. These are foundational human strengths. It is time to have the courage to acknowledge these findings also in business management and to place these insights at the centre of the corporate strategic agenda.

In your opinion, what makes a sustainable corporate culture nowadays?

Today’s corporations are increasingly confronted with dynamic change and corporate culture becomes an anchor for identification and trust in a business – for customers, employees, shareholders, partners and society alike. In my opinion, the purpose of a business is the most important and significant pillar, which outlines the reason of existence and the soul of a company. It expresses what the company wants to “give” to the world. We often forget that companies exist to serve people and society and not the other way around. Phrases like “We want to be the number one” are witness to this ancient world thinking. On the other hand, many stakeholders can identify with AirBnB's “Belonging everywhere” because social added value for many shall be created. In my experience, companies are therefore well advised to formulate their purpose in dialogue and together with their various stakeholders. It’s all about the process where the journey becomes the goal. Apart from a common purpose, I believe a corporate culture should include all the values that contribute to sustainable and good partnerships and trust, such as respect, transparency and integrity. It’s not enough to simply write them on marble panels, but to jointly define these values in a continuous dialogue process with employees and other stakeholders. 

We at MA people are specialised in crafting innovative hotel concepts and brands: what makes a hotel experience truly outstanding or you personally?

Of course humanity in dealing with people - how could it be otherwise?! Above all, I find it’s the small, spontaneous human gestures that are not rehearsed that impress me the most. It’s what makes me feel welcomed as a person and not just as a paying guest. And it’s not only about dealing with me as a customer. I also want to feel this humanity in the way the employees interact with each other. Recently during a restaurant visit for example, another service staff came to settle my bill than the one who brought the food earlier. She informed me immediately that she would give her colleague the tip I gave to her. I was very impressed as it showed me that respect and integrity are truly lived by the individuals at this place. Wherever authentic humanity prevails, I immediately feel at home. No matter which star rating the hotel has or whether I am on a leisure or business trip.