Human Nature Is Complicated

Many philosophers and theorists have tried to form their own understanding of human nature. What is meant by the term “human nature” is the idea of what humans inherently are. Outside of the state, economic, cultural, and other influences, what does human nature look like? Throughout time and circumstance humanity has found itself in many different kinds of environments. How have those environments impacted the collective understanding of human nature?

Human nature as a concept is very strange. When trying to understand it, it can be quite elusive. Looking through history may prove to be useful to the question at hand. Human nature has existed in a variety of circumstances and each could provide helpful information about what it is. How should these societies be broken down to be understood?

Base and Superstructure of Human Nature

With a mindset, much like the humans that came before the modern era, splitting things apart can prove to be helpful. Society in and of itself can be divided into two parts: the base and the superstructure. The base is simply the economic structure within that society. The superstructure is what forms around that economic base. The culture, the laws, the arts, ideas about human nature, and the rest of society that isn’t inherently production based. The base is usually the more important of the two. The superstructure is formed from the base. It then maintains the base. An example of this is American capitalism and all society’s effort to maintain it. All of the films, the laws, the art, the books, and all of the cultural conditioning are used as tools to maintain the economic base and manipulate human nature.

What about pre-civilization, can that society also be broken down like modern ones? Of course, one must only split the giant rock that is society and see what is inside. In the pre-civilization human world, cooperation was everything. If you didn’t work with the people in your tribe you died. There was only death for those that wanted to prioritize individualism. So, with the economic base being pre-agricultural, the superstructure formed to create a culture of collective survival. To prevent death entire communities form so that labor could be organized efficiently so that everyone survived. The elderly, women, and children were taken care of. Of course, there were skirmishes here and there. However, for individual communities, it was either peace or death. Being alone before the agricultural revolution was extremely hard and everyone knew that. Human nature back then was cooperative survival. This may seem surprising to some, but the economic system a person lives in is one of the biggest determining factors for their general behavior. Human nature is malleable, that is why humans have survived for so long. Humans are adaptable, and so is human nature.

Socioeconomic Influences

In the ages and eras after that point, there were many different types of societies. After the agricultural revolutions, some societies ran on labor power that was extracted from enslaved peoples. This is much different from American chattel slavery because that happened after the feudal era. However, in these slave societies, the ability for wealth accumulation began to rise. One could have all their needs met by simply exploiting the labor of another. Thus, class society began.

For example, America is known to be the most powerful country in the entire world. The reason they are that way is that the most powerful countries in this world get to exploit everyone else for profit. They can force hegemony upon the whole world. This hegemony can influence people’s opinions on human nature. Does this make the people who live in America inherently evil?

No, that conclusion would be highly presumptuous. However, the imperialism that America engages in to steal resources from countries with low military might and no power could be interpreted as evil. With oppressive power structures rewarding negative human impulses like greed, no wonder people think humanity’s nature is to be evil. With no counter-evidence being provided this would be a natural conclusion. However, there is nothing natural about saying human nature is evil because that contradicts all of the beautiful moments of struggle, survival, and happiness humanity has shared together.

Now, what does any of this have to do with human nature? The point of all of this was to say that certain interpretations of human nature can become flimsy when looked at from a historical lens. To say that humanity is evil, or inherently bad is preposterous. Sure there are many moments in history a person could point to as evidence of human nature’s inherent moral character. What those people forget is that our world is ruled by the laws of causality. Every action has a cause. Just like in normal physics, everything in history has a cause. Many of these causes are not related to human nature at all. Human nature isn’t inherently morally abhorrent, but the oppressive power structures that reward the greedy and punish the weak are.

Can You Imagine a Better World?

Imagine if there was a system of governance that encouraged some of humanity’s best traits. Imagine a system of governance that encourages humanity to share its resources. A system in which we use our collective labor to solve problems. A system that would work for the 99%, not just the richest of the rich. Imagine a system that puts people over profit, not the other way around. Something that encourages the best aspects of human nature. That would be something, wouldn’t it?

Human nature is one of the most difficult things to understand. You need historical context, cultural context, a good understanding of geopolitical conflicts, and a lot of philosophy. It is a worthy endeavor to find and understand human nature. One conclusion is that humanity is a species that can be made to do many things. They can commit atrocities, or go to the moon. It is up to them if they will let the oppressive nature of the systems at hand corrupt their indomitable will. One day there may be a system that encourages humanity to use their hearts and minds to the best of their potential.

Written by Kenneth Mazerat
Edited by Sheena Robertson

Sources:

ThoughtCo: Definition of Base and Superstructure by Nicki Lisa Cole

CNN: Breaking news alert: People are inherently good, nonviolent by David G. Allan

Britannica: Breaking news alert: hunter-gatherer by Adam Augustyn

Featured and Top Image Courtesy of  Caribb‘s Flickr – Creative Commons License

Inset Image Courtesy of Ikhlasul Amal‘s Flickr – Creative Commons License