"Defects in society are caused by defects in human nature.

"
"He was a famous and eloquent Peripatetic, and he gathered together all the other causes of
destruction - floods, epidemics, famines, and sudden incursions of wild animals in myriads, by whose
assaults, he informs us, whole tribes of men have been wiped out. And then he proceeds to show by
way of comparison how many more men have been destroyed by the assaults of men - that is, by
wars or revolutions - than by any and all other sorts of calamity...therefore, there can be no doubt on
this point, that man is the source of both the greatest help and the greatest harm to man."

Cicero

...

Human nature is the fundamental nature and substance of humans, and although certain aspects of
such nature have not changed since man's evolution, many of the defects we now see in society are
caused by defects that have appeared in human nature after the evolution of our ancestors. A defect
can be defined as a shortcoming, fault, or imperfection. Many of the imperfections we see in human
nature have been caused by growing up in certain cultures, and through our own personal
experiences. Some of these defects include fear, insecurity, dependence and ignorance, all of which
are both a natural part of being human, but can also be emphasized by certain upbringings. In
William Golding's 'Lord of the Flies' he explores in depth the consequences befallen by civilization
when humans succumb to the dark side of human nature. We see the same thing happening
throughout the world everyday - the causes of crime, poverty and war can all be traced back to
defects in human nature.
Many people would argue that human nature cannot be defective. After all, if human nature is
something that has been welded into us since our evolution, it would be quite a logical assumption
that it cannot be called 'defective'. However, according to the Macquarie Dictionary, a defect is
defined as a fault or imperfection, and there is not one human on this earth who does not have some
kind of imperfection about them. Therefore, it is safe to assume that, yes, it is possible that human
nature contains defects, be they intentional or not. Some of these defects include greed, ignorance,
fear, insecurity and dependence. All too often, greed has forced people to go to any lengths to gain
and keep what they want, not thinking of the consequences of such actions. Many teenagers today
put themselves in life threatening situations because of ignorance of what could happen should they
make certain decisions. Fear often clouds peoples' vision, and stops them thinking rationally. Many a
time in the face of danger, people in fear have gotten so caught up in the situation that they are
unable to find a solution to the problem. Alternatively, they think only of themselves, leaving those
around them in danger. Insecurity is a major problem in today's society, especially among young
people. The media portrays an image to us of how we should act and what we should look like, and
this places a lot of pressure on adolescents who are already dealing with many changes in their
lives. Many school shootings have been caused by students who have been previously bullied or

discriminated against by other students. Their insecurity as a result of these actions ends up putting
many more lives in danger. Although dependence is not always considered a bad thing, it can
become harmful when people are not able to function on their own. If we remain dependant on
people throughout the stages of our life where we grow and learn the most, we will never be
properly equipped to take care of ourselves and deal with what is in store for us once we mature and
venture out into the world on our own. Many children who have been sheltered by their parents
grow up being unable to cope in situations in which they must think for themselves, and it is here
that we see over-protection is also another defect in human nature, subsequently causing defects in
society. These over-protected and sheltered children have been brought up in what has been made
to appear a 'perfect' world. Of course, there is no such thing, and once out of their parents'
protection, they find themselves emotionally unable to deal with difficult situations and decisions.
In Golding's novel, 'Lord of the Flies', he portrays to us what can become of a society when man lets
himself succumb to the darker side of human nature. He shows us how different people behave when
placed in the same situation (in this case, being forced to fend for themselves, without adult
supervision). Jack and his hunters give in to savagery, running amok on the island, whilst Ralph and
Piggy know that unless they act seriously, they have no chance whatsoever of being rescued. Fear
(in the form of the beast) plays a major part on how the boys on the island behave. As we see in the
scene of Simon's death, the boys are so caught up with wanting to kill the beast that they kill Simon,
their delusion having caused them to believe that he is the beast they seek to destroy. Their minisociety has become so consumed by fear and obsession that we eventually see their devolution as
they move further away from civilization. At the start of the book, we see the boys' innocence, but as
the story continues, many of the boys lose sight of their standards and values and give in to their
primal instincts, namely to hunt and destroy. By the end of the story, the boys are not only set on
hunting for food, but hunting for sport. Here we see how a society can be torn apart when humans
allow themselves to be consumed by their obsession and fear. Jack, who was once a prefect was so
overtaken by his desire to kill, he eventually lost all traces of his former self, and many of the other
boys followed in his footsteps. After matter of months, a society had fallen to pieces, all starting with
one boy's insatiable obsession with the hunt. Golding shows us in the short space of 223 pages how
fear and obsession can destroy a society on a global scale, by using the island as microcosm of the
world.
Everyday, we see people throughout the world suffering, wars being fought and governments
making decisions that seem to be based on their own desires, rather than what would benefit their
countries. This leads to us ask ourselves why this continues to happen, despite the fact that the
majority of us know Writer Help Wanted that fighting will get us nowhere, and that unless the
privileged help the poor and suffering, people in underprivileged countries will never come out of
their slum. The answer lies in man's underlying selfishness and greed. While it's true that the world
is filled with generous people who do everything they can to stop discrimination, poverty and war,
their efforts are often overshadowed by the selfish schemes of governments and other pressure
groups. Take the drought in Australia as an example. For many years, the situation has been
worsening, yet the government fails to do anything about it, always using the excuse that any longterm water-saving plans will be too expensive. Instead, they spend money looking for short-term
solutions, which inevitably get them nowhere. By using the underground bores as water supply, they
are taking away a natural resource that is irreplaceable. Their lack of foresight and willingness to
spend money in order to catch and store what little rainwater is received means many larger cities
are now suffering the consequences of drought. Countless farmers have lost jobs for inability to keep
stock alive and crops watered, and this is causing numerous disputes between the government and
those suffering. Just as Jack in 'Lord of the Flies' was thinking of a short-term solution (hunting pigs
for food) rather than keeping sight of the long term goal (being rescued, therefore keeping the fire
the first priority), the government has been focusing only on a short-term solution to the water

shortage. It is only in the past few years that the government has realized the mistake they made by
refusing to implement water restrictions and spend extra money for water catchments. As a result,
they are seeing the effects drought has had on many rural areas in the country. Many larger urban
populations are also suffering, and the government will eventually have to spend more money to fix
the problems caused by lack of water. Another example of how defects in human nature can cause
defects in our society is the war on terrorism. The hypocrisy surrounding the governments'
strategies to stop terrorism is enormous. If war and bombing is what we seek to be rid of, then the
question arises as to why we are committing the same acts to try and stop this. When thought out
logically, 'bombing for peace' makes our governments just as bad as any other 'terrorist' government
in the world. The fact that many of these conflicts have been started because of different religious
opinions shows us that unless we are able to accept and appreciate our differences, we will never
live in a peaceful world. Once again, we see how even a small defect in human nature can cause
such devastating consequences in societies all throughout the world.

In conclusion, is it really fair to assume that defects in today's society have been caused by defects in
human nature? The answer is yes. Not one person on this planet is perfect - at one time or another in
our lives, we have all felt the strong emotions of revenge, greed, ignorance, fear, hatred...as Golding
has shown us in 'Lord of the Flies', it is only natural for humans to feel such emotions. Since the
dawn of our existence, men have fought between themselves over such mundane things as land,
ownership, money and food. If someone wronged you once, it seemed appropriate to take revenge.
It's when we, living in the 21st century, revert back to such instincts that we begin to find problems
in society. If it weren't for many countries' insistence that all follow their religion, thousands of
needlessly lost lives could have been saved. If it weren't for the hypocrisy we see in 'bombing for
peace', we might not be fighting such an aimless war. If it weren't for lack of foresight by
governments, many economical and ecological problems we experience today could have been
avoided. These defects found in human nature are the reason for so much suffering in the world
today. So what can we do to change this? While it's true that many of these instincts have been
passed down to us from our primitive ancestors, many factors such as our upbringing and
experiences determine how we react to such instincts. At some point in their lives, everyone will feel
fear. Everyone will feel greed. Everyone will feel the need for revenge. If we learn how to deal with
these feelings in a positive way, the world will feel a lot less suffering. While human nature cannot
be changed, how we react and feel about it can. Every defect in society can be traced to a defect in
human nature. The first step to creating a world free of poverty, crime and war starts with the
human race learning to react to and control the instincts given to them by human nature in a more
positive manner. Once we learn to deal with our negative emotions in a positive way, the defects in
our human nature will gradually cease to cause defects in our society, and we will all live in a more
civilized and rational world.
References
Golding, William. Lord of the Flies. London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1954
"Defect" Def.1-2. The Macquarie Dictionary. Revised 3rd ed. 1997
Pappas, Jason. Liberty and Culture. 05 March, 2007
Accessed 30 Sept. 2007
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