Throughout history, there have always been bullies—those who stole and hoarded the abundance of others for their own gain. But for all their self-glory, every one of them and their kingdoms fell and were replaced. Predators get consumed by other predators. They are not fit to lead, rule or survive. They are an evolutionary dead-end.
Parasites have long praised these bullies, fed off them and their victims and passed down ruthless methods for retaining power and expanding kingdoms—methods that kill or crush anyone seen as a burden or threat.
They glorified death and cruelty and called it honor and power. But their words and deeds reveal who they truly are. They need not be named again, nor regarded for their infamy, except as object lessons of failure. Let their excesses expose their theft, for what they built was not earned but stolen.
Against such villainy stands a simple evolutionary imperative: mutual care. Your well-being is best protected when everyone’s well-being is.
This insight has been voiced in many forms over millennia by the greatest philosophers and religious leaders. It is the core principle of true civilization. The evidence is all around us: Some organisms are better equipped to survive environmental challenges than others. It is witnessed throughout all orders of life on earth—from bacteria to fish, birds, animals and people. That’s an insight of “evolution,” and it’s not wrong.
The error arises when this insight is misapplied to human leadership—especially the false idea that “apex predators” are the fittest to rule. This view fails on several counts. It imagines that predation—even against one’s own species—is the highest form of survival. That victims are nature’s design. That we can do nothing about it. None of this is true.
There is another factor that changes outcome: coordinated action. Evolution is not fate or predestination. We’re not mindless products of a capricious environment, nor helpless against predators or storms.
Many organisms use coordinated action to adapt to or protect themselves from their environment, or to defend against predators. Ants build colonies. Birds migrate in formation. Wolves hunt in packs. These shared efforts improve their survival. Coordinated action makes them more fit to thrive. They don’t dominate alone—they thrive together.
We humans do this constantly. It’s why we wear clothing, build homes, establish farms and hospitals, and construct vast transportation networks. It’s why we’ve done so well against natural dangers and predators. It’s why we worry about global warming, arrest conmen, and have a standing army for defense against would-be conquerors.
Our coordinated action brought us to the level of technology and civilization we now enjoy. Despite our conflicts and flaws, it is this collaboration—not solitary strength—that has created our abundance.
And yet, in the midst of this, robbers and conmen still take more than they deserve—and claim credit for what we built together. The slaves do the work, and the bullies take the praise. The parasites steal from the shadows.
Our coordinated action did not succeed because a bully forced us to work. It succeeded because we worked.
The foundational truth of coordinated action is that it is mutual care. By working with each other and for our common good, we all thrive.
But let’s be practical: Coordinated action depends on both expertise and supervision. It does not require “leadership” from those who seize power through violence or intimidation. Nor from those who quietly siphon off others’ work and call it their own. Those who steal and hoard are unfit to lead. They must be resisted and restrained.
Only those who act and lead in service of mutual care are qualified. Mutual care is the coordinated action that enables us to survive and prosper. It is our evolutionary imperative.
This simple wisdom—treating others the way we want to be treated—is not just a moral good. It is a practical key to our future. And the Golden Rule isn’t a naïve sentiment. It is the foundation of prosperity, of a wonderful future for us, our children, and our children’s children, in which no one is exploited, excluded or left behind.
When food, clothing, shelter, healthcare, education and safety are provided to all without exception—by our mutual care for each other—we all rise together. That is why we need it.
Replacing exploitation with mutual care. That is our call, our duty, and our only real hope for the future.
Let’s make it so.