From the author of New York Times bestseller UTOPIA FOR REALISTS, 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 Humankind, 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 Homo sapiens. 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 Humankind 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.

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.

THE SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A Guardian, Daily Telegraph, New Statesman and Daily Express Book of the Year 'Hugely, highly and happily recommended' Stephen Fry 'You should read Humankind. You'll learn a lot (I did) and you'll have good reason to feel better about the human race' Tim Harford 'The book we need right now' Daily Telegraph 'Made me see humanity from a fresh perspective' Yuval Noah Harari 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.

Tradisjonell venstre- og høyresidepolitikk har ikke løsningene på vår tids store utfordringer, mener historiker Rutger Bregman. Det er på tide å tenke nytt, og i denne boken presenterer han tre grunnleggende ideer: borgerlønn, 15 timers arbeidsuke og åpne grenser. For mange vil dette fremstå som utopier, men det har de fleste av historiens milepæler vært, påpeker Bregman. Kan det være slik at folk heller vil ha mer fritid og lavere forbruk enn høyere lønn? Er gratis penger mer effektivt enn bistand for å løfte folk ut av fattigdom? Og hva skal vi egentlig leve av når maskiner tar over arbeidsplassene våre? Omtalen er utarbeidet av BS.

From a universal basic income to a 15-hour workweek, from a world without borders to a world without poverty - it's time to return to utopian thinking. Rutger Bregman takes us on a journey through history, beyond the traditional left-right divides, as he introduces ideas whose time has come. Utopia for Realists is one of those rare books that takes you by surprise and challenges what you think you know. In the words of leading social theorist Zygmunt Bauman, it is "brilliant, truly enlightening, and eminently readable." This original Dutch bestseller sparked a national movement for basic income experiments that soon made international headlines.

From the author of the New York Times bestsellers Humankind and Utopia for Realists—“a more politically radical Malcolm Gladwell” (The New York Times)—comes a bold manifesto daring us to harness our talents and transform our idealism into action, all with the goal of making the world a wildly better place. A career consists of 2,000 workweeks, and how you spend that time is one of the most important decisions of your life. Still, millions of people are stuck in in mind-numbing, pointless, or just plain harmful jobs. There’s an antidote to this waste of talent, and it’s called moral ambition. Moral ambition is the will to be among the best, but with different measures of success. Not a fancy title, fat salary, or corner office, but a career dedicated to the best solutions to the world's biggest problems— whether that means tackling climate change, making pandemics history or fighting Big Tobacco. In Moral Ambition, internationally bestselling author Rutger Bregman reveals how our conventional definitions of success are harming us and the planet, and shows how we can shift the focus from personal gain to societal benefit. In the process, he explains, we will join a growing movement of pioneers who are already living out this ethos. They're the builders, the problem-solvers, the doers who have chosen a path less traveled. A guidebook to finding that path for ourselves, Moral Ambition reminds us that the real measure of success lies not in what we accumulate, but in what we contribute, and shows how we, too, can build a legacy that truly matters.

« Ce livre offre une perspective stimulante et pleine d’espoir » THE GUARDIAN Le monde va mal, et même très mal. Dans cet essai vif et inspirant, Rutger Bregman s’interroge sur le gâchis de talents et les moyens de les mettre au service de causes urgentes. Partout, des millions de personnes pourraient contribuer à changer le cours de l’histoire – mais ne le font pas. Par manque de temps, d’audace, d’occasions... ou parce qu’elles n’y croient tout simplement pas. En retraçant l’histoire remarquable d’activistes, scientifiques ou lanceurs d’alerte, célèbres ou non, qui ont remporté des batailles décisives en éveillant les consciences, de l’abolition de l’esclavage au combat pour les droits civiques, du féminisme aux enjeux de santé publique, cet ouvrage démontre que d’autres voies sont possibles. Changer le monde n’est pas réservé à une poignée de héros. Rutger Bregman nous invite à dépasser l’impuissance, l’inertie, l’ambition sociale, pour faire le choix de l’ambition morale. C’est-à-dire décider de consacrer notre énergie, nos compétences, nos connaissances aux grands défis de notre temps : la crise climatique, l’extrême pauvreté, les inégalités, les pandémies à venir. Et si nous ne le faisons pas, que diront nos enfants et petits-enfants de nous ? Une véritable invitation à l’action.

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.0Maar wat als we het al die tijd mis hadden? 0In 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?0'De meeste mensen deugen' herschrijft niet alleen de geschiedenis, maar werpt ook nieuw licht op onze toekomst.

No malgastis més el teu talent i comença a canviar el món. De l'autor dels èxits La humanitat i Utopia per a realistes, arriba aquesta guia pràctica per a idealistes. El bé més malbaratat del món és el talent. Milions de persones estan atrapades en feines sense sentit o directament nocives. Però hi ha un remei per a això: l'ambició moral. L'ambició moral és la voluntat d'estar a dalt de tot, però valorant l'èxit, no amb un càrrec sonor o un gran despatx, sinó amb el fet de dedicar-se a trobar la solució als grans problemes del món. Amb el seu característic discurs lluminós i ple d'exemples històrics reveladors, a Ambició moral, Rutger Bregman mostra com podem desplaçar el focus cap a allò que aportem i generar un impacte, com ja fa un moviment creixent de pioners que viuen aquesta idea. Per començar a canviar les coses, de vegades n'hi ha prou amb un petit grup de gent. De vegades, amb una persona sola. Ambició moral és una guia pràctica per a idealistes que ensenya a trobar aquest camí i deixar un llegat que realment millori l'únic món que tenim.