Will Hutton tells us that neoliberalism - capitalism and markets - is terrible, no good, horrible, because self-interest. And he then divines the truth of human nature:

On the other hand, are the “we firsts”. They are equally passionate in their insistence that salvation lies in the group and society and convinced, whether on the climate emergency, hi-tech monopolies, crippling uncertainties about living standards or just the evident truth that we humans are altruists as much as individualists, that to follow the “me firsts” is the road to perdition. What is crucial to us as social beings is the group, society, the commonweal and belonging as equals. After all, it was associating in groups that was fundamental to our evolutionary capacity to hunt and to see off predators. That primeval urge to associate in the group is what underpins happiness and wellbeing. What people want is less the exercise of choice in markets, more to control their lives in the service of what they value – and that is best done collectively and, as far as possible, equitably.

The logical leap Hutton fails to make is that yes, that is indeed that human nature. We are a cooperating species, working in groups. That’s what makes neoliberalism - capitalism and markets - work. That’s what capitalism and markets are, people cooperating with each other. Exxon is 100,000 people cooperating to bring us fossil fuels. Amazon is a million people cooperating the heck out of each other to bring us speedy tchotchke. The whole system works precisely because humans do cooperate with each other. A transaction is exactly that cooperation, competition is merely the choice of who to cooperate with.

Neoliberalism being - that globalised version of capitalism and markets - the apposite socioeconomic structure for our species precisely because we are a cooperating one.

It’s also worth pointing out that if Will Hutton were to truly believe his own rhetoric there then he’d have to conclude that we need fewer Will Huttons telling us all what to do. For as that we first species we’d already be cooperating, wouldn’t we? As, indeed, we do.