Socialists Aren’t Naive About Human Nature

Many have long chastised the Left for its supposed naivete about human nature. To these critics, the Left thinks that human beings are by nature good. Left-wingers of all stripes of course recognize that there are many evils in the world — otherwise they wouldn’t be on the Left. But, the criticism goes, left-wingers refuse to attribute these evils to human nature, instead blaming flawed institutions and culture. Remove these social sources of human corruption, and class rule and selfish…