I think people are basically decent, but that is making allowances for considerable foibles, and assuming a reasonable degree of socialization. Without socialization, the benevolent impulses vie with malevolent impulses too much. Anyone who has been around younger children, and seen how wantonly aggressive they can be, all the more so against a child who is perceived as weak or abnormal, has observed the phenomenon. Similarly, when they are angry, they have little inhibition, and lash out; when they are covetous, they have little inhibition, and grab; and they have difficulty avoiding an extremely self- centered view of things. Rousseau was quite wrong, the core self is not per se good, and society does not mainly corrupt, it disciplines. The children who shoot one another over sneakers and coats are from broken homes in which the receive little adult attention or discipline. We must reinforce civilized values, including parental responsibility.
I will see if I can find a digital version of Desideratum........ |
