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
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
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
“Borders are the single biggest cause of discrimination in all of world history. Inequality gaps between people living in the same country… — Rutger Bregman Borders Copy Share Image
“Researchers at Yale University have shown that educated people are more unshakable in their convictions than anybody.” — Rutger Bregman Educated people Copy Share Image
In the past 20 years scientists from very diverse disciplines - anthropologists, archaeologists, sociologists, psychologists - have all moved to a much… — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
Instead of a universal basic income, we could have a basic income guarantee. Or, as economists prefer to call it, a negative… — Rutger Bregman Economists Copy Share Image
Government isn't there just to administer life support to failing markets. Without the government, many of those markets would not even exist. — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
“Take a Somalian toddler. She has a 20% probability of dying before reaching the age of five. Now compare: American frontline soldiers… — Rutger Bregman Civil war Copy Share Image
But I think 'Love, Actually' has a very realistic view of human nature in line with the latest scientific evidence. The opening… — Rutger Bregman Character Copy Share Image
So I think that good journalism helps you to zoom out, to focus on the structural forces that govern our lives. And… — Rutger Bregman Focus Copy Share Image
The greatest sin of the academic left is that it has become fundamentally aristocratic, writing in bizarre jargon that makes cliches seem… — Rutger Bregman 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
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
During the Enlightenment, there were brilliant thinkers who realized that, if you assume most people are naturally selfish and you construct the… — Rutger Bregman Buddhism 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
“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
The world view of the underdog socialist is encapsulated in the notion that the establishment has mastered the game of reason, judgment… — Rutger Bregman Game Copy Share Image
Children are born as emphatic and compassionate beings - so you don't have to teach them generosity, it's in their nature to… — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
A lot of great things are going on. In many ways, the past 30 years have been the best in world history.… — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
“Even so, I think historians have more to offer than perspective on our present woes. The foreign country we call the past… — Rutger Bregman Foreign country Copy Share Image
It's important to make a distinction between the news and journalism. The news is about recent, incidental and sensational events. It's mostly… — Rutger Bregman Events Copy Share Image
“If a political party or a religious sect had even a fraction of the influence that the advertising industry has on us… — Rutger Bregman Advertising industry Copy Share Image
A universal basic income would be the best way to give everyone the opportunity to do more unpaid but incredibly important work,… — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
From Scotland to India, and from Silicon Valley to Kenya, policymakers all over the world have become interested in basic income as… — Rutger Bregman Poverty Copy Share Image
Societies tend to presume that poor people are unable to handle money. If they had any, people reason, the poor and homeless… — Rutger Bregman Education Copy Share Image
Remember: real politics isn't about figureheads and seats in parliament. Real politics is about ideas. And there can be no doubt regarding… — Rutger Bregman Doubt Copy Share Image
“Not coincidentally, the countries with the shortest workweeks also have the largest number of volunteers and the most social capital.” — Rutger Bregman Social capital Copy Share Image
But the underdog socialists' biggest problem isn't that they are wrong. They are not. Their biggest problem is that they're dull. Dull… — Rutger Bregman Biggest problem Copy Share Image
Nowadays excessive work and pressure are status symbols. Time to oneself is sooner equated with unemployment and laziness, certainly in countries where… — Rutger Bregman Laziness Copy Share Image
The great thing about money is that people can use it to buy things they need instead of things self-appointed experts think… — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
“In the twenty-first century, the real elite are those born not in the right family or the right class but in the… — Rutger Bregman Elite Copy Share Image
“we can turn to a study by the Center for Immigration Studies–a think tank that opposes immigration–which found that immigration has virtually… — Rutger Bregman Education Copy Share Image
Most people would say the meaning of life is to make the world a little more beautiful, or nicer, or more interesting.… — Rutger Bregman Beautiful Copy Share Image
Poor people aren't making dumb decisions because they are dumb, but because they're living in a context in which anyone would make… — Rutger Bregman Context Copy Share Image
Countries with short workweeks consistently top gender' equality rankings. The central issue is achieving a more equitable distribution of work. — Rutger Bregman Equality Copy Share Image
Only the work that generates money is allowed to count toward GDP. Little wonder, then, that we have organized education around feeding… — Rutger Bregman Education Copy Share Image
Our streets are very important for social cohesion, for feelings of safety, and we just surrendered all this to the car. But… — Rutger Bregman Copy Share Image
When I talk about 'everyday communism', I am teasing a little. It is a provocative idea. But then we all do a… — Rutger Bregman Communism Copy Share Image
