Back to Political ArticlesIs Human Nature a barrier to Disability Rights?
(This article is inspired by the SWP's "Is human nature a barrier to socialism?" pamphlet, by John Molyneux)
Right wingers, and others sceptical about the possibility of improving the rights of oppressed people, say that any attempt to create a fairer society will fail because it runs contrary to human nature. How true is this? Well, this article explores the arguments regarding human nature, with a specific focus on disability rights.
Does human nature exist?
Yes, but it's much maligned. Much of what is described is "human nature" is simply a reference to how human beings have been conditioned to act within class society in general, and the current capitalist society (of whatever type) in particular.
Human nature can be partially defined by human needs - many of which are also common to those of animals - such as the need for nutrition, warmth, shelter and rest, and desires for recreation and companionship.
At the same time, a part of human nature can be defined by what separates humans from other animals - the capacity for thought, effective communication, the ability to create and use tools which allow us to effectively shape our immediate environment, and the ability to pass on and improve ideas and techniques. All this means that human society has a far greater capacity for progress than other animal societies.
What about greed and selfishness ?
These are not inherent to human nature. For hundreds of thousands of years, early humans lived in hunter gatherer societies which did not have private property or personal possessions, but lived co-operatively. Until very recently, such lifestyles were also practiced by tribes such as the !Kung tribe in Africa.
Selfishness tends to be caused in part by a scarcity of basic necessities (see above). There is already the capacity to produce enough food, housing and energy to give a decent living standard to all people on Earth. It is the distribution of these resources, under capitalism, that creates a surplus in the better off sections of society but scarcity among the less well off people.
As for greed, that is encouraged by the capitalist system. Money and personal possessions become power and prestige, so people are encouraged to accumulate more than they need, or have any real use for. At the same time, the concept of wealth in the form of money - the "universal pimp", as Marx called it - divorces wealth, in the eyes of many people, from the items (and the corresponding improvement in living standards) which can be obtained with money.
Finally, we are all subject to alienation. Marx' theory of alienation is long and complicated, but it stems from the fact that our ability to work, which has the potential to improve our standard of living and that of our community, has become taken by capitalist employers for the gain of the capitalist ruling class. This distorts our position in the world, and how we see the world. It is alienation which is responsible for many of the negative character traits which are too often wrongly attributed to "human nature".
What about fear of the unknown?
Prejudice, including disability prejudice, is often attributed to "fear of the unknown". Although fear of the unknown is natural, it has little to do with the hatred and prejudice which are prevalent in capitalist society.
For example, many people have a fear of ghosts. However, there are very few (if any!) cases of hooligans getting drunk and then visiting the local haunted house/castle spraying holy water around and shouting "Come on spooky, we're having you..."
Prejudice and intolerance are caused not by fear of unknown people, but by prevalent negative attitudes which are constantly reinforced by the media, government and other parts of the capitalist Establishment - leading people to blame oppressed minority groups for their own problems and those of society. Racism grew up during the slave trade and colonialism, sexism and homophobia are linked with the rise of the nuclear family in Victorian times, and the roots of disability prejudice are detailed here.
Besides, fear of the unknown is broken down when "the unknown" becomes "the known". The answer, then, is greater integration of disabled people into society.
Is there any evidence of a good side to human nature?
Actually, yes. Humans are social animals, and divisions between groups of humans are largely artificially created.
Human nature has, far from being selfish, been shown to be generous and caring on many occasions. When there is a disaster which does not directly affect us, such as the Asian Tsunami of late 2004, people across the world (including in the UK) rally round in raising funds and supplying aid to the afflicted areas. The thousands of people who marched through Edinburgh in July 2005, demanding an end to poverty caused by Third World debt, is proof that people do not simply look after thwmselves and their families.
In the case of people with disabilities, although charity is flawed and can be detrimental to equal rights, the fact remains that disability-related charities do raise millions of pounds each year - hardly proof that people could not care less about the welfare of people with disabilities, is it?
It is this social, co-operative side of human nature which - far from being a barrier to either socialism or civil rights - is a necessary pre-requisite for a fairer, more humane, more equal society.