Anthropologists, archeologists, philosophers, and all others studying the nature of man quite often take the mainstream approach that humans has been evolving for the last thousands of years and the subsequent "advances" in civilization like agriculture, usury, nation-states, schooling, vaccinations have all improved the human condition. What's never questioned and always assumed is whether or not these characteristics are indeed part of an evolutionary order. What if they are actually part of a devolution of humanity rather than some evolving progression of our species?
I notice when people discuss "human nature" it's commonly accepted that humans are violent, competitive, hierarchal, along with other domineering traits because of evolution. If this is the case, then psychically there's not much that separates humans from other mammals and even primates of the same order; biological traits of course separates our structure from other animals, but this is just half the picture. What distinguishes humans, is their thinking with high-level emotional awareness and characteristics such as empathy, compassion, and creativity. Any monkey can become aggressive and controlling by using their primitive sagacious functioning of the mind.
We see glimpses of humans acting on their full potential through pursuits such as art and sport, though your mass individual often takes the least common denominator route of a mammalian mind. With enough of a large collective going through this route, the fatal symptoms of a devolved humanity come to fruition as seen by disease, slavery, warfare, and other less obvious forms of control. For the sake of practically and common sense, it would be wise to figure out this critical issue regarding human nature before engaging on any sort of moral endeavor by just chasing the symptoms. Let's keep in mind what Thoreau said about those hacking at the branches compared to the ever important task of striking the root.