"Statements on human nature are always a bit tricky because of the complexity of the subject matter. This does not prevent the obvious fat that the capitalist system operates according to a very one-sided and unflattering view of human nature. As a result, our most deeply entrenched social structures, our top-down business models, our punitive legal systems, our market-based approaches to everything from education reform to environmental regulation, have been build on the premise that humans are driven only by self-interest, programmed to respond only to the invisible hand of the free markets.
In “The Penguin and the Leviathan”, Yochai Benkler, Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies at Harvard University, explains that “in the last decade this fallacy has finally begin to unravel as numerous studies across dozens of cultures have found that most people will act far more cooperatively than previously believed. He draws on cutting-edge findings from neuro-science, economics, sociology, evolutionary biology, political science, and a wealth of real-world examples to debunk this long-hold myth and reveal how we can harness the power of human cooperation to improve business processes, design smarter technology, reform our economic systems, maximize volunteer contributions to science, reduce crime, improve the efficacy of civic movements, and more.”"
Via
Howard Rheingold