If we assume the best in people, we can radically redesign our democracy and welfare states. — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
One of my rules for life is: 'When in doubt, assume the best,' because in the end, most people are pretty decent. — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
I think it's rational to assume the best in other people because most people are pretty decent. — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
No one is suggesting societies the world over should implement an expensive basic income system in one stroke. — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
“people living in unequal societies spend more time worrying about how others see them.” — Rutger Bregman Community Copy Share Image
A Dutchman can't easily get away from cheese. I was dropped into a cauldron of cheese when I was young. — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
History will tell you that borders are not inevitable, they hardly existed at the end of the 19th century. — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
A worldwide shift to a shorter working week could cut the CO2 emitted this century by half. Countries with a shorter working… — Rutger Bregman Climate Copy Share Image
The real 'Lord of the Flies' is a tale of friendship and loyalty; one that illustrates how much stronger we are if… — Rutger Bregman Friend Copy Share Image
In reality, it is the waste collectors, the nurses, and the cleaners whose shoulders are supporting the apex of the pyramid. They… — Rutger Bregman Reality Copy Share Image
Literally every single sliver of technology that makes the iPhone a smartphone instead of a stupidphone - internet, GPS, touchscreen, battery, hard… — Rutger Bregman Government Copy Share Image
I first read 'Lord of the Flies' as a teenager. I remember feeling disillusioned afterwards, but not for a second did I… — Rutger Bregman Books Copy Share Image
Bankers are the most obvious class of closet freeloaders, but they are certainly not alone. Many a lawyer and an accountant wields… — Rutger Bregman Alone Copy Share Image
Private companies mostly manufacture medications that resemble what we've already got. They get it patented and, with a hefty dose of marketing,… — Rutger Bregman Drug Copy Share Image
The most daunting challenges of our times, from climate change to the ageing population, demand an entrepreneurial state unafraid to take a… — Rutger Bregman Challenges Copy Share Image
Psychologists even have a term for this: they talk about 'mean world syndrome'. People who have just seen too much of the… — Rutger Bregman Cynical Copy Share Image
“Some scholarships are applied for by only 30% of those who qualify,” says Shafir, “despite the fact that study after study has… — Rutger Bregman Education Copy Share Image
There's always selfish behavior. There are lots of examples of people hoarding. But we've seen in this pandemic that the vast majority… — Rutger Bregman Behavior Copy Share Image
The first thing we should acknowledge is that poverty is hugely expensive. It varies from country to country, but most of the… — Rutger Bregman Country Copy Share Image
As a species of animal that evolved to make connections and work together, it feels strange to suppress our desire for contact.… — Rutger Bregman Desire Copy Share Image
There is certainly a longstanding idea within western culture that civilization is only a thin veneer. As soon as something happens, say… — Rutger Bregman Civilization Copy Share Image
A universal basic income means not only that millions of people would receive unconditional cash payments, but also that millions of people… — Rutger Bregman Inequality Copy Share Image
Since the 70s and the 80s you see the rise of neoliberalism. The central dogma of neoliberalism was that most people are… — Rutger Bregman Government Copy Share Image
“Whether we’re searching for new dreams or rediscovering old ones, we can’t move forward without looking to the past. It’s the only… — Rutger Bregman Dreams Copy Share Image
“I’m heartened by our dissatisfaction, because dissatisfaction is a world away from indifference. The widespread nostalgia, the yearning for a past that… — Rutger Bregman Desire Copy Share Image
“Instead, we should be posing a different question altogether: Which knowledge and skills do we want our children to have in 2030?… — Rutger Bregman Children Copy Share Image
“Free money works. Already, research has correlated unconditional cash disbursements with reductions in crime, child mortality, malnutrition, teenage pregnancy, and truancy, and… — Rutger Bregman Economic growth Copy Share Image
“Before the invention of the GDP, economists were rarely quoted by the press, but in the years after World War II they… — Rutger Bregman Economics Copy Share Image
“Even utopias need a tax clause. For example, we could start with a transactions tax to rein in the financial industry. Back… — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
“In fact, we are living in an age of biblical prophecies come true. What would have seemed miraculous in the Middle Ages… — Rutger Bregman Life Copy Share Image
“The modern creed – or worse, the belief that there’s nothing left to believe in – makes us blind to the shortsightedness… — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
“In a world that’s getting ever richer, where cows produce more milk and robots produce more stuff, there’s more room for friends,… — Rutger Bregman Business Copy Share Image
“Welcome, in other words, to the Land of Plenty. To the good life, where almost everyone is rich, safe, and healthy. Where… — Rutger Bregman Carbon emissions Copy Share Image
“It takes talent, ambition, and brains. And the banking world is brimming with clever minds. “The genius of the great speculative investors… — Rutger Bregman Investing Copy Share Image
“If there’s one place, then, where we can intervene in a way that will pay dividends for society down the road, it’s… — Rutger Bregman Developing countries Copy Share Image
“Whereas public sector services often bring a plethora of hidden benefits, the private sector is riddled with hidden costs. “We can afford… — Rutger Bregman Economics Copy Share Image
“This is nothing less than a whole new approach to economics. The randomistas don’t think in terms of models. They don’t believe… — Rutger Bregman Difficult time Copy Share Image
“The great milestones of civilization always have the whiff of utopia about them at first. According to renowned sociologist Albert Hirschman, utopias… — Rutger Bregman Long ago Copy Share Image
“When Lehman Brothers collapsed on September 15, 2008, and inaugurated the biggest crisis since the 1930s, there were no real alternatives to… — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
