# What do you think is the closest humanity has to universal agreement? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 3, 2026, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765 "2026-05-03T23:09:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Leaper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/4bbf92/32.png) [@Leaper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaper)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/1 "2026-05-03T23:09:16Z")
The more important the issue or topic, the better! Inspired by Reddit recently reminding me that there are very few opinions so niche that you can’t find plenty of people online who agree with it, especially in a species numbering in the billions. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 3, 2026, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/2 "2026-05-03T23:23:19Z")
Probably the classics of morality, like “theft bad” and “murder wrong”. They ended up considered “morality” in the first place _because_ nearly everyone agrees they don’t want to be stolen from or murdered, so all that was necessary was convincing people that making the prohibition universal was the best way to protect themselves. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/3 "2026-05-04T00:59:27Z")
The fact you can find a thousand allies on the internet in a species numbering in the billions is evidence we don’t all agree, not that we do. Ref @Der_Trihs’ good point. … Damned near everyone agrees they don’t want to be a _victim_ of theft or murder. Which is a very different, and much weaker, conclusion from “Everyone agrees there ought not be theft or murder”. Lots and lots of people are fully in favor of theft and murder. As long as the right people are stolen from and/or killed. Which, amazingly enough, rarely incudes themselves. Odd that. IMO any discussion of universal agreement has to include the caveat that one’s opinion about treatment of any/everyone else _must_ agree with their opinion about treatment of themselves. If not, their opinion is meaningless as to universality. ---
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/4 "2026-05-04T01:24:29Z")
Maybe the Catholic church at it’s height before the reformation? That’s a big chunk of the word that believed in the same basic principles ---
**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/5 "2026-05-04T01:26:18Z")
Don’t kill. Don’t steal. Don’t harm children. Be nice to old people. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/6 "2026-05-04T01:42:08Z")
Don’t get caught. ---
**Author:** ![Quondam\_Mechanic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quondam_mechanic/32/3404_2.png) [@Quondam\_Mechanic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quondam_Mechanic)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/7 "2026-05-04T01:46:01Z")
2 + 2 = 4 ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/8 "2026-05-04T01:46:48Z")
Cannibalism is wrong in almost every circumstance. ---
**Author:** ![Der\_Trihs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/der_trihs/32/233_2.png) [@Der\_Trihs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Der_Trihs)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/9 "2026-05-04T01:51:05Z")
Thinking about it, “menstruation is bad”. Men mostly think it’s yucky, and women hating it exists is one of the most universal opinions I can ever recall seeing from them. Menopause is the only sign of aging I can think of that I see get a reaction of “free at last” instead of some semi-joking variation of “one step close to death”. ---
**Author:** ![TreacherousCretin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treacherouscretin/32/476_2.png) [@TreacherousCretin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TreacherousCretin)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/10 "2026-05-04T02:05:20Z")
Disco still sucks. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/11 "2026-05-04T04:24:38Z")
It sucks that you and everyone you like (speaking to @LSLGuy’s exception as it were) has to die? I know, quite a few people espouse that the afterlife is a much better place, but even then they seem quite willing for it to come in it’s own sweet time. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/12 "2026-05-04T04:30:55Z")
Having access – for yourself – to breathable air, potable water, and edible nutritious food. As mentioned upthread, regarding theft and murder, one probably won’t find agreement that _everyone_ should have access to those, but “yes, I want those things for **me** ” is probably close to universal. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/13 "2026-05-04T04:48:57Z")
That there is a deity/deities. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/14 "2026-05-04T04:49:04Z")
I’m not sure the “be nice to old people” part is that universal. I’ve seen a whole lot of folks who argue online that old people are a “burden” to society in some way or other, and there’s plenty of anti-Boomer hate on Reddit. ---
**Author:** ![Velocity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/velocity/32/18006_2.png) [@Velocity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Velocity)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/15 "2026-05-04T04:49:24Z")
What…? There are, and always have been, many many atheists. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/16 "2026-05-04T15:53:37Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > There are, and always have been, many many atheists. Exactly. Looking at current numbers: - About 5% of Americans identify as atheists. - About 10% of Europeans identify as atheists. A somewhat higher percentage, in both areas, appear to not specifically identify as atheists, but do say that they “don’t believe in God.” And that sets aside China, and its 1.4 billion citizens; China is officially atheist, though it appears that most Chinese have some level of religious faith. ---
**Author:** ![iamatractorboy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iamatractorboy/32/21261_2.png) [@iamatractorboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iamatractorboy)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/17 "2026-05-04T15:57:56Z")
I know the Internet has shown there are some idiots out there, but surely ‘The Earth is round’ is pretty popular. ---
**Author:** ![Meatwater](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/meatwater/32/20074_2.png) [@Meatwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Meatwater)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/18 "2026-05-04T17:36:37Z")
Perhaps the concept of money/transactional trade, cause when humans ran into other humans who didn’t agree… just had their stuff taken. ---
**Author:** ![zimaane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/a3d4f5/32.png) [@zimaane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zimaane)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/19 "2026-05-04T17:44:58Z")
Taboos against incest (for very close relations) and cannibalism are close to universal, both now and at least for thousands of years ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2026, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-you-think-is-the-closest-humanity-has-to-universal-agreement/1029765/20 "2026-05-04T21:37:35Z")
And lets not get stated about eating babies. Everyone knows that is the worst thing anyone ( and especially a democrat) can do. Pedophile is widely regarded by just about everyone (including murderers) as being an abomination worthy of death.