Beyond Us: A Humanitarian’s Perspective on Our Values, Beliefs and Way of Life

Dutch humanitarian and philanthropist Matser urges readers in his powerful English-language debut to rethink harmful approaches to life. He argues that humans are out of sync with nature and each other and should strive to return to a more “unconstrained” way of life. One’s education, family, and career progression should offer “impetus and direction,” he suggests, rather than a goal-oriented finality: “Graduation, work, relationships, children, promotion, etc., in and of themselves, are not the meaning of life.” For Matser, the rush toward goals and a zero-sum view of success erodes the power of human cooperation, making everything a competition with far-ranging negative consequences. He launches into theories about how individuality is “a faulty story” and argues that language has diminished the ability to experience reality. Matser questions the idea of growth as something becoming bigger or richer, and pushes instead for a sense of dynamic tension between assertiveness and vulnerability that can bring out the best in humanity. In smooth prose, Matser diagnoses and describes a range of ills, but stops short of detailed solutions in favor of a broader reorientation to life. Matser’s provocative notions will appeal to philosophically-minded readers of self-help. (Jan.)