Utopia for Realists

How We Can Build the Ideal World

By: Rutger Bregman

Narrated by: Peter Noble

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.

"A more politically radical Malcolm Gladwell." -- New York Times

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.

Critic reviews

"A more politically radical Malcolm Gladwell...To the extent that bookish economic historians can rampage, Bregman is on one...He combines a detailed approach to economic policy with a utopian vision of a better future...Bregman argues that it is only by dreaming about what seems to be unachievable that society can make good things possible."—Patrick Kingsley, New York Times

"Both a fun read and a breath of fresh air to anyone who lived through the ghastly experience of last year's presidential election season . . . Utopia for Realists argues, with humor and sympathy, that we've all suffered from forgetting how to dream of a better world....What's so interesting about modern America is our hostility to the mere idea of trying to create an easier and happier life. We're a country that was once rich with social experimentation . . . Now we don't really even try, and mostly just scream at each other on the Internet. That doesn't seem like it will get us there. Maybe free money and a three-hour workday won't, either, but it sure seems like it would be more fun to try."
—Matt Taibbi, Rolling Stone

"Convincing . . . Entertaining and reasoned . . . Bregman's book makes for enjoyable reading, and it is packed with colorful factual asides . . . Utopia for Realists should make for good conversation at the next dinner party."—Benjamin Cunningham, Los Angeles Review of Books

"Provocative and ambitious...The book is lively, well-researched, and full of unlikely pieces of history."—Tim Harford , Financial Times

"Utopia for Realists is fantastic. A quick glance turned into hours of riveting reading. Very seldom does a book change the way you think about some of most intractable problems of society, and of life. This one did. Read this book."—Sydney Finkelstein, director of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College and author of Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent

"If you're bored with hackneyed debates and decades-old right-wing and left-wing clichés, you may enjoy the bold thinking, fresh ideas, lively prose, and evidence-based arguments in Utopia for Realists."
—Steven Pinker, New York Times bestselling author of The Blank Slate and The Better Angels of Our Nature

"Bregman speaks with impressive authority . . . His solutions are quite simple and staunchly set against current trends . . . He has assembled a wealth of empirical evidence to make his case. Better than that, though, Utopia for Realists is not a dry, statistical analysis-although he doesn't shy from solid data-but a book written with verve, wit, and imagination. The effect is charmingly persuasive, even when you can't quite believe what you're reading . . . Listen out for Rutger Bregman. He has a big future shaping the future."—Andrew Anthony, The Guardian UK

Perfect blend of hope and fact

Utopia for Realists delivers. Bregman provides vital data with powerful storytelling of examples. You'll better understand what utopia actually looks like and how to achieve it. You'll also understand yourself better as well as those similar to you, and, most importantly, those you are opposed to. It doesn't mean utopia is a place without conflict. It does mean there's a lot to understand to get there.

Believe big lasting impactful positive change is impossible? This book is for you.
Believe big lasting impactful positive change is possible? This book is for you.
Hopeful for the future? This book is for you.
Wishing you could be hopeful for the future? This book is for you.

We need a utopia

I loved this book so much, it made much of what had previously come to realize to fruition through the authors hard work and research over the years.

Wow

I’ve had discussions so many times hitting on all of these topics and the way Rutger lays them out is phenomenal.

Awesome Social Experiments Talk About

Told me about successful social experiments I'v never heard of! If you want learn something that isn't talked about regularly, listen to this book... The logic is sound but being backed by experiments is hopeful!

Eye opening

The author presents a very convincing argument for ideas I would have rejected out of hand before listening to the evidence he offers. I am still not sure he is correct but I am open to wait for the next shoe to drop