Bill Maher's New Rule: Human Nature Is The Real Problem
The HBO segment frames bad behavior as a design problem for institutions, not a personality flaw.
Bill Maher used a New Rule segment on REAL TIME WITH Bill Maher to argue that human nature itself is the obstacle standing in the way of a better society, telling viewers that the best anyone can realistically do is build institutions that make it harder for people to act on their worst instincts.
The segment, titled Greek Out, continues Maher's weekly New Rule format on the HBO program, in which he takes one premise and pushes it toward its logical conclusion. Rather than framing the country's problems as the result of individual bad actors, Maher's argument in this installment shifts the focus to structural design, suggesting that expecting people to simply behave better is less realistic than building systems that limit opportunities for bad behavior in the first place.
The bit follows a string of recent New Rule segments in which Maher has tackled subjects ranging from the national debt to America's appetite for watching others fail. In a recent episode, Maher used a similar segment format to argue that phones and public shaming have replaced genuine engagement with other people's lives, a theme that carries into this installment's focus on institutional design over individual virtue.
As with other entries in the New Rule format, the segment keeps Maher's commentary centered on a single, topical premise delivered in his usual rapid-fire style before REAL TIME moves into its interview and panel segments.
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