Liberals and conservatives have been arguing for centuries over whether people are basically good or evil. The truth is we can go either way. All the many cultures across human history have shown human beings can be very good and they can be very bad. It’s the human potential. We can create a world that brings out our best -- or one that brings out our worst.

We have learned a great deal in the first 150 years of sociology and psychology about the causes of social problems and human unhappiness. Rather than simply reacting to the crisis de jour, we could invest in prevention and creating a better society that has less crime and fewer social problems in the first place. Relying on force to control behavior is expensive and ineffective.

We can significantly change the odds someone will turn to crime or harmful behavior by planting social resources in the environment. Of course, individuals are responsible for their behavior. However, if we as a society know how to prevent social problems and refuse to do anything, aren’t we also responsible?

A new synthesis between liberals and conservatives awaits. The old Chinese story says that if you give a person a fish, they can live for a day but if you teach them to fish, they can live for a lifetime. Liberals want to provide a daily fish. The conservative strategy consists of little more than putting up a sign saying: “Go Fish.” There is a third alternative. It is asking, what kinds of social resources would be helpful to individuals in their struggles?
Conservatives say, “Hands off the system.” However, when we just throw things up for grabs, the rich and powerful use their influence behind closed doors to rig the game.

When government sides with bad business, it drives good businesses out of business. Good business pays attention to workers and customers. Bad business tries to seize a monopoly and bribe government to avoid taxes and drop regulations that protect the public. How can good businesses who try to do the right thing compete? In a bizarre logic that defies common sense, corporate controlled politicians refer to this as creating a “positive business climate.”

So much of the behavior we call evil is a complicated response of people who feel powerless or meaningless. People will do almost anything to recoup some sense of control over their lives or feel even a fleeting sense of meaning. Coming out of World War II, social scientists produced a considerable body of knowledge on the social causes of evil, how to deal with it and what misguided strategies only make it stronger. We have forgotten those lessons. The psychiatrist who examined Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh concluded, “He was not crazy, just serious.” Unless we understand terrorists, how can we possibly think we’re going to prevent it?

All the great religions agree the key to living together successfully on earth is the Golden Rule. Empathy is the core of what we mean by civilization. Pope John XXIII said, "If you want peace, work for justice." There is no clearer formula. Win-win solutions are not religious pie in the sky. They are the heart of any good business deal. And they are the only realistic formula for a lasting world peace. That doesn’t mean everyone has to be the same or anything like that. But people need to get their basic needs met. If there are extreme losers, we’re asking for trouble.

The power of society is not that it can mandate behavior but that we incorporate its dreams and they become our own. We must understand the scripts that we live. We can change the story. We can move from fear to community.