Evolutionary behavioral scientist Dr. Gad Saad delivered a blunt warning at the Northwest Sanity Forum this week: societies and institutions that attempt to engineer policies against human nature are doomed to fail. The Northwest Sanity Forum, held in Renton, Washington, brought together what Hoffman described as “common sense activists” who believe the political and cultural “insanity has gone too far.”
Speaking with Ari Hoffman on Talk Radio 570 KVI after his keynote, Saad emphasized that whether in marketing, politics, or social policy, ignoring basic biological and psychological instincts has catastrophic consequences.
“You can’t shame women into being attracted to pear-shaped men who cry at chick flicks & you can’t shame beer drinkers into wanting something that mocks them. Human nature doesn’t bend to ideology."
My interview at the NW Sanity Forum with @GadSaad pic.twitter.com/NHwHSRdMvl
— Ari Hoffman 🎗 (@thehoffather) August 22, 2025
Why Communism Fails
Saad drew on his research in evolutionary psychology to explain why ideologies like communism repeatedly collapse.
“Humans are not a communistic species,” he said. “Some of us are taller, shorter, harder working, less hard working. To impose that we should all end up at the same ultimate place because of some misguided sense of empathy is contrary to human nature. That’s why communism always fails.”
He compared such utopian thinking to misguided marketing strategies. For example, a publisher once attempted to release romance novels featuring “pear-shaped men with nasal voices who cry watching Bridget Jones’s Diary” to avoid “toxic masculinity.” The result, he noted, was total market rejection.
“Women already come with innate mate preferences,” Saad said. “When you create products or policies that are antithetical to human nature, I can assure you the outcome’s going to be failure.”
Bud Light vs. American Eagle – and Sydney Sweeney
Hoffman then raised the contrast between Bud Light’s disastrous marketing campaign and the booming success of American Eagle jeans, which recently featured actress Sydney Sweeney in its ads.
“When you go against nature, we see what happens,” Hoffman said. “Bud Light alienated its core audience. But when you embrace it — like American Eagle did with Sydney Sweeney — you see what happens on the other side.”
Saad agreed, pointing out that the market responds quickly when companies either respect or defy biological instincts.
“Exactly,” Saad said. “Bud Light said, ‘We’re going to teach you what your values should be.’ They ignored the most basic truths about their customers, and it blew up in their face. American Eagle, on the other hand, went with a universally appealing, attractive young woman who embodies health, youth, and vitality. And what happened? Sales exploded. It’s not complicated.”
Saad added that companies that try to “reprogram desire” are engaging in “arrogant social engineering.”
“You can’t shame women into being attracted to pear-shaped men who cry at chick flicks, and you can’t shame beer drinkers into wanting something that mocks them,” he said. “Human nature doesn’t bend to ideology. The market punishes hubris every time.”
Fighting Back Against Ideological Capture
Asked what ordinary people can do to resist ideological extremism in academia, business, and government, Saad rejected the notion that individual voices don’t matter.
“Your voice matters within whatever sphere of influence your life dictates,” he said. “If you’re at a pub with friends and someone says something completely objectionable, engage them. It doesn’t have to be hostile. Don’t always walk away from an opportunity to defend foundational principles.”
Saad urged students to challenge professors instead of parroting ideological talking points just to get better grades. “It is better to live with dignity for five minutes than to live as a fraudulent coward for 500 years,” he said.
Can Universities Be Saved?
Saad, who teaches at Concordia University in Montreal, remains cautiously optimistic about academia.
“Most people in universities are not the blue-haired Taliban,” he said, referring to activist extremists. “It’s a small minority that dictates what the rest of us can say and do. Universities can be saved, but parents must be strategic about where they send their kids and what fields they study.”
He encouraged students to pursue disciplines that sharpen intellect and reasoning — from neuroscience to Shakespeare — but warned against wasting tuition on ideologically driven programs.
A Call for Courage
In closing, Saad stressed that reclaiming institutions begins with courage and engagement. “Just speak out,” he said. “The rest will take care of itself.”
