Many people in our society believe that humans are 'broken' or 'bad' when born and need to be 'trained', 'socialized', or 'raised' into doing the 'right things'. This is what the doctrine of original sin codifies. They believe that people, left to themselves will be selfish, greedy, impolite, and just take. This is Hobbsian nonsense, and I can provide a few proofs of that here. If cooperation and kindness were antithetical to basic humanity, there wouldn't _be_ any humanity in the first place. Violent organs of the State have only been in existence a small portion of the history of humanity. Cooperation has been required through all of it. Humans, more so that most animals, are very dependent on other humans to get their needs met. Their children take a very long time to become self-sufficient. Alone they have a limited skill set in dealing with problems, any illness or injury can prove fatal without support of the group. If it were natural for all humans to go live as hermits, the world would look much different. In fact, there probably wouldn't be any humans in it. Instead, humans have been gathered into and worked together as groups, tribes, and families for as far back as we can tell. Being in a tribe and working together presupposes skills and abilities that keep the tribe working. Especially one specific trait. Remember when you were last incredibly happy. If you are like me, the things that come to mind are ways that you interacted with others so as to provide real value and joy for them--some way that you were in service. It paradoxically feels best when the 'other' couldn't "pay you back" for what you did, such as when you help a child. Sometimes, simply holding the door open for someone or giving directions are some of the most powerful sources of happiness and joy. When you didn't have any motivation or sometimes possibility to "get" from the interaction. This feeling when helping others is the joy of 'natural giving'. And children do it all the time. Its intrinsic reward is very powerful and keeps us doing for one another what needs to be done. It is the glue that holds community together. It is the most powerful way to relate. It connects us to our humanity. It is the opposite of objectification or commodification. We are inherently connecting to the feelings and needs of the other when we naturally give. That good feeling of helping is the glue that binds all of humanity together. It was what Jesus was pointing to with most of his parables. It is what Marshall Rosenberg would like us to practice instead of the culture of punishment and following [[The Myth of Authority]] with the domination system. These two ideas are antithetical. The entire purpose of this site is to help you re-connect to natural giving in your life, as that is the way to relate which will make yourself and others more happy. So now you know!