Humankind: a hopeful history

Prologue

A new realism

The real Lord of the Flies

The state of nature. The rise of Homo puppy ; Colonel Marshall and the soldiers who wouldn't shoot ; The curse of civilisation ; The mystery of Easter Island

After Auschwitz. In the basement of Stanford University ; Stanley Milgram and the shock machine ; The death of Catherine Susan Genovese

Why good people turn bad. How empathy blinds ; How power corrupts ; What the enlightenment got wrong

A new realism. The power of intrinsic motivation ; Homo ludens ; This is what democracy looks like

The other cheek. Drinking tea with terrorists ; The best remedy for hate, injustice and prejudice ; When the soldiers came out of the trenches

Epilogue: Ten rules to live by.