Discussion Questions
We'll add publisher questions if and when they're available; in the meantime, use our LitLovers talking points to help start a discussion for HUMANKIND: A HISTORY OF HOPE … then take off on your own:
1. Does Rutger Bregman's premise resonate with you? Are humans better people than history has made us out to be? Or given history, do you find Bregman's viewpoint naive?
2. Talk about Bregman's argument in support of his thesis. Of the evidence he presents, what do you find most persuasive? Least persuasive?
3. Humankind presents an alternative version, the true version, behind the 1954 novel by William Golding's Lord of the Flies. Have you read Golding's classic story? What does Bregman learn, through interviews with the rescuer and one of the boys, that differs from the novel?
4. Discuss Bregman's solutions. Do you find them plausible? Is there one you think deserves priority? Can you think of other solutions that are not mentioned in Humankind?
5. Consider watching Bregman's 2017 TED Talk presentation, "Poverty Isn't a Lack of Character; It's a Lack of Cash," which the forum considered one of it's top 10 talks of the year.
(Questions by LitLovers. Please feel free to use them, online and off, with attribution. Thanks.)
Humankind (Bregman) - Discussion Questions
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