Universal basic income. A 15-hour workweek. Open borders. Does it sound too good to be true? One of Europe's leading young thinkers shows how we can build an ideal world today.
After working all day at jobs we often dislike, we buy things we don't need. Rutger Bregman, a Dutch historian, reminds us it needn't be this way-and in some places it isn't.
Rutger Bregman's TED Talk about universal basic income seemed impossibly radical when he delivered it in 2014. A quarter of a million views later, the subject of that video is being seriously considered by leading economists and government leaders the world over. It's just one of the many utopian ideas that Bregman proves is possible today.
Utopia for Realists is one of those rare books that takes you by surprise and challenges what you think can happen. From a Canadian city that once completely eradicated poverty, to Richard Nixon's near implementation of a basic income for millions of Americans, Bregman takes us on a journey through history, and beyond the traditional left-right divides, as he champions ideas whose time have come.
Every progressive milestone of civilization-from the end of slavery to the beginning of democracy-was once considered a utopian fantasy. Bregman's book, both challenging and bracing, demonstrates that new utopian ideas, like the elimination of poverty and the creation of the fifteen-hour workweek, can become a reality in our lifetime. Being unrealistic and unreasonable can in fact make the impossible inevitable, and it is the only way to build the ideal world.

Utopia for Realists is one of those rare books that takes you by surprise and challenges what you think you know. Rutger Bregman takes us on a journey through history, beyond the traditional left-right divides, as he introduces ideas whose time has come.
This original Dutch bestseller sparked a national movement for basic income experiments that soon made international headlines. Translation rights have been sold to thirty territories.

From the author of
a revolutionary argument that the innate goodness and cooperation of human beings has been the greatest factor in our success
If one basic principle has served as the bedrock of bestselling author Rutger Bregman's thinking, it is that every progressive idea -- whether it was the abolition of slavery, the advent of democracy, women's suffrage, or the ratification of marriage equality -- was once considered radical and dangerous by the mainstream opinion of its time. With
, he brings that mentality to bear against one of our most entrenched ideas: namely, that human beings are by nature selfish and self-interested.
By providing a new historical perspective of the last 200,000 years of human history, Bregman sets out to prove that we are in fact evolutionarily wired for cooperation rather than competition, and that our instinct to trust each other has a firm evolutionary basis going back to the beginning of
. Bregman systematically debunks our understanding of the Milgram electrical-shock experiment, the Zimbardo prison experiment, and the Kitty Genovese "bystander effect."
In place of these, he offers little-known true stories: the tale of twin brothers on opposing sides of apartheid in South Africa who came together with Nelson Mandela to create peace; a group of six shipwrecked children who survived for a year and a half on a deserted island by working together; a study done after World War II that found that as few as 15% of American soldiers were actually capable of firing at the enemy.
The ultimate goal of
is to demonstrate that while neither capitalism nor communism has on its own been proven to be a workable social system, there is a third option: giving "citizens and professionals the means (left) to make their own choices (right)." Reorienting our thinking toward positive and high expectations of our fellow man, Bregman argues, will reap lasting success. Bregman presents this idea with his signature wit and frankness, once again making history, social science and economic theory accessible and enjoyable for lay readers.

"A more politically radical Malcolm Gladwell."
—

After working all day at jobs we often dislike, we buy things we don't need. Rutger Bregman, a Dutch historian, reminds us it needn't be this way—and in some places it isn't. Rutger Bregman's TED Talk about universal basic income seemed impossibly radical when he delivered it in 2014. A quarter of a million views later, the subject of that video is being seriously considered by leading economists and government leaders the world over. It's just one of the many utopian ideas that Bregman proves is possible today.
is one of those rare books that takes you by surprise and challenges what you think can happen. From a Canadian city that once completely eradicated poverty, to Richard Nixon's near implementation of a basic income for millions of Americans, Bregman takes us on a journey through history, and beyond the traditional left-right divides, as he champions ideas whose time have come.
Every progressive milestone of civilization—from the end of slavery to the beginning of democracy—was once considered a utopian fantasy. Bregman's book, both challenging and bracing, demonstrates that new utopian ideas, like the elimination of poverty and the creation of the fifteen-hour workweek, can become a reality in our lifetime. Being unrealistic and unreasonable can in fact make the impossible inevitable, and it is the only way to build the ideal world.

After working all day at jobs we often dislike, we buy things we don't need. Rutger Bregman, a Dutch historian, reminds us it needn't be this way-and in some places it isn't.
Rutger Bregman's TED Talk about universal basic income seemed impossibly radical when he delivered it in 2014. His April 2017 talk continues to make the provocative case, detailing the idea's 500-year history and even its brief success in a forgotten trial in Manitoba in the 1970s. Nearly a million views later, guaranteed basic income is being seriously considered by leading economists and government leaders the world over. It's just one of the many utopian ideas that Bregman proves is possible today.
is one of those rare books that takes you by surprise and challenges what you think can happen. From a Canadian city that once completely eradicated poverty, to Richard Nixon's near implementation of a basic income for millions of Americans, Bregman takes us on a journey through history, and beyond the traditional left-right divides, as he champions ideas whose time have come.
Every progressive milestone of civilization-from the end of slavery to the beginning of democracy-was once considered a utopian fantasy. Bregman's book, both challenging and bracing, demonstrates that new utopian ideas, like the elimination of poverty and the creation of the fifteen-hour workweek, can become a reality in our lifetime. Being unrealistic and unreasonable can in fact make the impossible inevitable, and it is the only way to build the ideal world.

It's a belief that unites the left and right, psychologists and philosophers, writers and historians. It drives the headlines that surround us and the laws that touch our lives. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Dawkins, the roots of this belief have sunk deep into Western thought. Human beings, we're taught, are by nature selfish and governed by self-interest.
Humankind makes a new argument: that it is realistic, as well as revolutionary, to assume that people are good. The instinct to cooperate rather than compete, trust rather than distrust, has an evolutionary basis going right back to the beginning of Homo sapiens. By thinking the worst of others, we bring out the worst in our politics and economics too.
In this major book, internationally bestselling author Rutger Bregman takes some of the world's most famous studies and events and reframes them, providing a new perspective on the last 200,000 years of human history. From the real-life Lord of the Flies to the Blitz, a Siberian fox farm to an infamous New York murder, Stanley Milgram's Yale shock machine to the Stanford prison experiment, Bregman shows how believing in human kindness and altruism can be a new way to think – and act as the foundation for achieving true change in our society.
It is time for a new view of human nature.

It's a belief that unites the left and right, psychologists and philosophers, writers and historians. It drives the headlines that surround us and the laws that touch our lives. And its roots sink deep into Western thought: from Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Pinker, the tacit assumption is that
makes the case for a new argument: that it is realistic, as well as revolutionary, to assume that people are good. When we think the worst of others, it brings out the worst in our politics and economics too.
In this major new history, internationally bestselling author Rutger Bregman shows how believing in human kindness and altruism can be a new way to think – and act as the foundation for achieving true change in our society.
It is time for a new view of human nature.

Der Historiker und Journalist Rutger Bregman setzt sich in seinem Buch mit dem Wesen des Menschen auseinander. Anders als in der westlichen Denktradition angenommen ist der Mensch nicht böse, sondern, so Bregman, im Gegenteil: von Grund auf gut. Und geht man von dieser Prämisse aus, ist es möglich, die Welt und den Menschen in ihr komplett neu und grundoptimistisch zu denken. In seinem mitreißend geschriebenen, überzeugenden Buch präsentiert Bregman Ideen für die Verbesserung der Welt. Sie sind innovativ und mutig und stimmen vor allem hoffnungsfroh.

De geschiedenis van de vooruitgang nadert haar einde. Wij zijn rijker, gezonder en veiliger dan ooit, maar voelen ons steeds vaker tekortgedaan. Waar komt dat onbehagen vandaan? Waarom heeft de vooruitgang zijn beloftes niet ingelost? Op zoek naar antwoorden neemt de talentvolle historicus Rutger Bregman de lezer mee op een reis van de Oerknal tot nu, van het vlaggenschip van Columbus naar het laboratorium van Thomas Edison, van de oudste grotschilderingen naar de beursvloeren op Wall Street.
Het is een geschiedenis die iedereen aangaat en die veel zegt over de echte uitdagingen van de eenentwintigste eeuw. Bregman verweeft natuurkunde en archeologie, biologie en psychologie, filosofie en geschiedenis in één wervelend betoog. Hij vertelt het verhaal van het uitzonderlijke zoogdier de mens, die zich in zijn uithoek van het heelal vastklampt aan verhalen, maar nu aan het eind van zijn Latijn lijkt. De geschiedenis van de vooruitgang is een zoektocht naar een nieuw vooruitgangsgeloof in een tijdperk dat er maar niet in kan voorzien.

Utopies réalistes

Ouvrir grand les frontières, une semaine de travail de quinze heures, le revenu de base universel... Des idées naïves et dépassées ou bien la force de l'utopie renouvelée ? Résolument anti-décliniste, Utopies réalistes tombe à pic et nous explique comment construire un monde idéal aujourd'hui et ne pas désespérer ! D'une ville canadienne qui a totalement éradiqué la pauvreté à l'histoire d'un revenu de base pour des millions d'Américains sous Richard Nixon, Rutger Bregman nous emmène dans un voyage à travers l'histoire et, au-delà des divisions traditionnelles gauche-droite, défend des idées qui s'imposent par la force même de l'exemple et le sérieux de la démarche historique. Tout progrès de la civilisation - des débuts de la démocratie à la fin de l'esclavage - fut d'abord considéré comme un fantasme de doux rêveurs.

À la fois stimulant et passionnant, appuyé sur les travaux d'Esther Duflo, Thomas Piketty, David Graeber, etc., cet essai vif, pédagogique et amusant rouvre plusieurs perspectives : la réduction du temps de travail, le revenu universel, plus largement la lutte contre la pauvreté et la réduction des inégalités, la taxation des flux financiers et enfin l'ouverture des frontières. Alors laissons l'enthousiasme de l'auteur, à contre-courant du pessimisme ambiant, nous convaincre que de nouvelles propositions utopiques peuvent être envisageables à court terme.

De mens is een beest, zeiden de koningen. Een zondaar, zeiden de priesters. Een egoïst, zeiden de boekhouders. Al eeuwen is de westerse cultuur doordrongen van het geloof in de verdorvenheid van de mens.Maar wat als we het al die tijd mis hadden? In dit boek verweeft Rutger Bregman de jongste inzichten uit de psychologie, de economie, de biologie en de archeologie. Hij neemt ons mee op een reis door de geschiedenis en geeft nieuwe antwoorden op oude vragen. Waarom veroverde juist onze soort de aarde? Hoe verklaren we onze grootste misdaden? En zijn we diep vanbinnen geneigd tot het kwade of het goede?Adembenemend, weids en revolutionair - De meeste mensen deugen herschrijft niet alleen de geschiedenis, maar werpt ook nieuw licht op onze toekomst

Iedere carrière duurt 2.000 werkweken. Hoe je die tijd besteedt, is een van de belangrijkste beslissingen van je leven. Toch zitten miljoenen mensen vast in suffe, nutteloze of zelfs schadelijke banen. De grootste verspilling van onze tijd is de verspilling van talent. Het medicijn tegen deze verspilling? Morele ambitie. De wil om bij de besten te horen, maar met andere maatstaven van succes. Geen dik salaris, deftige titel of corner office, maar een carrière die is gewijd aan de beste oplossingen voor de grootste wereldproblemen.Dit boek gaat over de beweging van pioniers die nu al bruisen van morele ambitie. Een gids voor hoe ook jij het pad van morele ambitie kunt volgen.via decorrespondent.nl.