According to the doctrine of original sin, all humans are born bad and only God’s grace can bring salvation. James Boyce shows how these ideas have shaped the Western view of human nature, and how the belief that we are all innately sinful retains a firm grip on Western consciousness and culture – even in the writings of avowed atheists such as Marx and Freud.

Born Bad traces a fascinating journey from Adam and Eve all the way to Adam Smith and Richard Dawkins in this sweeping story of a controversial idea and its remarkable influence.