If good is that which brings happiness and evil is that which prevents it, than mankind is naturally inclined toward good behavior. Whether that behavior is beneficial or detrimental depends on the reasoning employed by the person behaving. A person can either consider only consequences and not act, not consider consequences and act impulsively, or consider consequences and act.

Nature is not impartial. It is very biased and will annihilate anything that does not contribute to its success. Nature has come up with a very ingenious plan: it rewards its parts with biological pleasure for committing acts that benefit Nature herself. This is not a philosophical speculation; it is a scientific theory. Studies on how humans work as a unit, as well as modern theories like the Gaia theory[1], show this to be true. Ironically, people do not contribute to the whole by being altruistic. It is by being selfish that people do the greatest good.

The reason why the world seems excessively evil today is because of all of the conflicting views of good and evil. Subcultures are clashing with subcultures, cultures are clashing with cultures, and nations are clashing with nations. People also define their own idea of what is beneficial and judge others by it. But people will naturally want to do those things that are accepted as good by societies, made good by nature, and decided as good by their minds. The problem lies not in the person’s natural state, but societies’ distorted one.

People in cults are convinced to do insane things such as drink poison Kool-Aid. This is an evil act—but not by conventional standards. It is evil because it ruined their chance for a happier life. However, the people who drank the poison were employing a distorted reasoning that was indoctrinated into them by society. Also, in cults no external information gets to the members. So it would be evil for most other people but not for those who belonged to the cult. They were doing things they thought would bring them the most pleasure by the data available to them. But, though the people were justified, the cult as a whole was not.

Unbeneficial institutions cease to be precisely because of their unbeneficiality. The people within it tear it down because it is not working. It is similar to a modern scientific discovery: if people do not feel accepted in society, their bodies will secrete poisonous chemicals.[2] The cells destroy the whole because the whole is not working.

However, not all institutions are unbeneficial. Some societies simply conflict in views. In such cases one position will be adopted. It is like an alternate spelling of a word: it either dies out or takes over. But this should not be a cause for violence as it so often is. The Pluralism Hypothesis is the best working societal setup that exists yet far in the world’s history. A tolerance for other worldviews should exist between institutions. Of course, war is inevitable between human beings and is necessary. Institutions that are unbeneficial and dying out must be changed by the people within them first, then by the people without. If these unbeneficial institutions fail to comply to change, they must cease to be for the sake of mankind. Terrorism is an example.

However, war should never be the first choice. Exposure is always the first line of attack. Societies that are constantly exposed to new ideas and other worldviews grow faster. They are ever changing to fit the new world. Just as people use reason to filter societal and natural influence, so do societies. Societies have a collective reason.

Mankind is a creature itself. This is how interwoven and interdependent the human race is. However, it functions because of the selfishness of each of its creatures. It is altruism, laziness and impulsiveness that plagues the Collective Man.

Altruism is evil because it kills the altruist. True altruism is completely unconcerned with the Self. Surely those who do not take care of themselves commit suicide. This is for what pure altruism calls. Even Jesus said “Do unto other’s what you would have them do unto you.”

So the natural state of mankind is good. People seek to do those things that are said to give them the most pleasure. The problem is when social norms do not give more pleasure and distort logic. Religions convince people that rituals will bring them blessings; businesses convince people that their products will bring them happiness. This logic interferes with natural reason. And societies that are simply differing in views should tolerate each other. Eventually, though, one will be adopted and the other discarded. But the human race is ever growing; when one worldview dies, another is invented. This is mankind’s natural state.

[1] See www.jameslovelock.org and books by James Lovelock; also, Notes from the Holocene by Dorion Sagan.

[2] See Global Brain by Howard Bloom