It's a view that unites the left and right, psychologists and philosophers, writers and historians. It drives the headlines that surround us and the laws that touch our lives. And its roots sink deep in Western thought: from Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Pinker, the tacit assumption is that humans are bad. Humankind makes the case for a new argument: that it is realistic, as well as revolutionary, to assume that people are good. When we think the worst of others, it brings out the worst in us too. In his long-awaited second book, Rutger Bregman shows that believing in human kindness and altruism is actually a more realistic way to think - and the foundation for achieving true change in our society.