Even if altruism is advantageous at the group level, within any group altruists are liable to be exploited by selfish ‘free-riders’ who refrain from behaving altruistically. These free-riders will have an obvious fitness advantage: they benefit from the altruism of others, but do not incur any of the costs. So even if a group is composed exclusively of altruists, all behaving nicely towards each other, it only takes a single selfish mutant to bring an end to this happy idyll.

But of course Dawkins is lying…or stupid; it can be difficult at times to tell which a liberal is. He is not describing altruism, but pacifism, the dream of the leftist thug that his aggression will never be met with anything but a smile and an outstretched hand.

Sometimes, of course, he’s right. Other times he’s wrong…but with his brain splattered all over the wall, he’ll never realize it. That’s the real failure of history; the thugs either succeed or die, and we must remember for them.