--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For us today, it is still difficult to…" description: "\"“For us today, it is still difficult to imagine a future society in which paid labor is not the be-all and end-all of our existence. But the inability ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/rutger-bregman-2463_change_for-us-today-it-is-still-difficult-to-im_2866878.jpg" --- # For us today, it is still difficult to imagine a future… ![“For us today, it is still difficult to imagine a future society in which paid labor is not the be-all and end-all of our existence. But the inability to imagine a world in which things are different is evidence only of a poor imagination, not of the impossibility of change. In the 1950s we…” quote by Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/rutger-bregman-2463_change_for-us-today-it-is-still-difficult-to-im_2866878.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/rutger-bregman-2463_change_for-us-today-it-is-still-difficult-to-im_2866878.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a53/rutger-bregman-2463_change_for-us-today-it-is-still-difficult-to-im_2866878.jpg) > ““For us today, it is still difficult to imagine a future society in which paid labor is not the be-all and end-all of our existence. But the inability to imagine a world in which things are different is evidence only of a poor imagination, not of the impossibility of change. In the 1950s we couldn’t conceive that the advent of refrigerators, vacuum cleaners, and, above all, washing machines would help prompt women to enter the workplace in record numbers, and yet they did.”” [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Imagining a world without paid labor is hard, but history shows radical changes happen when we expand our imagination. **In simple terms:** Imagining change is hard but possible. Key Takeaway Broaden your vision of work. Themes society labor imagination Mood thoughtful hopeful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - policy reform - career planning - education curricula Key Concepts economic systems social change historical precedent Questions to Reflect On - What assumptions limit your view of work? - How can imagination drive social reform? A Different Perspective Cultural inertia resists new ideas. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change/) [Change 1950S](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/change-1950s-3900804/) [Difficult Imagine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult-imagine-585824/) [Future society](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/future-society/) [Imagine Future](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/imagine-future/) [Labor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/labor/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Washing machine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/washing-machine/) ## Related quotes > [I can walk about London and see a society that seems an absolutely revolutionary change from the 1950s, that seems completely and utterly different,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-lively/i-can-walk-about-london-and-see-a-society-that-seems-an-absolutely/) [Penelope Lively](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penelope-lively/) > [We need to organize ourselves and protest against existing order - against war, against economic and sexual exploitation, against racism, etc. But to organize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/howard-zinn/we-need-to-organize-ourselves-and-protest-against-existing-order/) [Howard Zinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/howard-zinn/) > [We cannot create blueprint for future society, but it is good to think about that. 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The discovery must be compared in importance with the invention of cave-painting and of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-bronowski/the-most-remarkable-discovery-made-by-scientists-is-science-itself/) [Jacob Bronowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-bronowski/) > [“The future of a society was not determined by the traits its members shared but rested entirely on their differences”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orhan-pamuk/the-future-of-a-society-was-not-determined-by-the-traits-its-members/) [Orhan Pamuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orhan-pamuk/) > [At one time in the mid-'70s I became the president of the Boston-Cambridge chapter of the World Future Society. Because I'd been in my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-laffoley/at-one-time-in-the-mid-70s-i-became-the-president-of-the-boston/) [Paul Laffoley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-laffoley/) > [A commonplace of political rhetoric has it that the quality of a civilization may be measured by how it cares for its elderly. Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-patrick-moynihan/a-commonplace-of-political-rhetoric-has-it-that-the-quality-of-a/) [Daniel Patrick Moynihan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-patrick-moynihan/) > [Today is the parent of tomorrow. The present casts its shadow far into the future. That is the law of life, individual and social.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-goldman/today-is-the-parent-of-tomorrow-the-present-casts-its-shadow-far-into/) [Emma Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-goldman/) ## More by Rutger Bregman > [“If all the developed countries would let in just 3% more immigrants, the world’s poor would have $305 billion more to spend, say scientists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/if-all-the-developed-countries-would-let-in-just-3-more-immigrants/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“When Lehman Brothers collapsed on September 15, 2008, and inaugurated the biggest crisis since the 1930s, there were no real alternatives to hand. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/when-lehman-brothers-collapsed-on-september-15-2008-and-inaugurated/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [I think one of the most important facts of basic income would be that it's not only a redistribution of income, but also of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/i-think-one-of-the-most-important-facts-of-basic-income-would-be-that/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [The great thing about money is that people can use it to buy things they need instead of things self-appointed experts think they need.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/the-great-thing-about-money-is-that-people-can-use-it-to-buy-things/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“The idea that the GDP still serves as an accurate gauge of social welfare is one of the most widespread myths of our times.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/the-idea-that-the-gdp-still-serves-as-an-accurate-gauge-of-social/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [Most of Mark Zuckerberg's income is just rent collected off the millions of picture and video posts that we give away daily for free.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/most-of-mark-zuckerberg-s-income-is-just-rent-collected-off-the/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“To calculate the GDP, numerous data points have to be linked together and hundreds of wholly subjective choices made regarding what to count and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/to-calculate-the-gdp-numerous-data-points-have-to-be-linked-together/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“Countless studies have shown that people who work less are more satisfied with their lives.37 In a recent poll conducted among working women, German…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/countless-studies-have-shown-that-people-who-work-less-are-more/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“Precisely when we should be shouldering the historic task of investing this rich, safe, and healthy existence with meaning, we’ve buried utopia instead. There’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/precisely-when-we-should-be-shouldering-the-historic-task-of/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [Believing in the good of humanity is a revolutionary act - it means that we don't need all those managers and CEO's, kings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/believing-in-the-good-of-humanity-is-a-revolutionary-act-it-means/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [Poor people aren't making dumb decisions because they are dumb, but because they're living in a context in which anyone would make dumb decisions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/poor-people-aren-t-making-dumb-decisions-because-they-are-dumb-but/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“The bottom line is that wealth can be concentrated somewhere, but that doesn’t also mean that’s where it’s being created. This is just as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/the-bottom-line-is-that-wealth-can-be-concentrated-somewhere-but-that/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“Recently, the International Monetary Fund published a report which revealed that too much inequality even inhibits economic growth.22 Perhaps the most fascinating finding, however,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/recently-the-international-monetary-fund-published-a-report-which/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [“Not coincidentally, the countries with the shortest workweeks also have the largest number of volunteers and the most social capital.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/not-coincidentally-the-countries-with-the-shortest-workweeks-also/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) > [It matters so much that from a very early age we encounter different kinds of different people, because that's what real life should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rutger-bregman/it-matters-so-much-that-from-a-very-early-age-we-encounter-different/) [Rutger Bregman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) [Explore all 164 Rutger Bregman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rutger-bregman/) ## More Change quotes > [Only within yourself exists the other reality for which you long. I can give you nothing that has not already its being within yourself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/only-within-yourself-exists-the-other-reality-for-which-you-long-i/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [Life is full of change. That's how we learn and grow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-full-of-change-that-s-how-we-learn-and-grow/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I can't believe that I'm sitting in meetings with Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Annette Bening. I want to take on that responsibility to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ross-williams/i-can-t-believe-that-i-m-sitting-in-meetings-with-steven-spielberg/) [Roger Ross Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ross-williams/) > [“…progress isn't necessarily about change but about things turning out as we want them to”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-hogan/progress-isn-t-necessarily-about-change-but-about-things-turning-out/) [Phil Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-hogan/) > [Nobody can tell me that no changes are necessary in Washington.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-weld/nobody-can-tell-me-that-no-changes-are-necessary-in-washington/) [William Weld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-weld/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [When you walk down the street of Kabul your values for life changes, they do change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-pierre-white/when-you-walk-down-the-street-of-kabul-your-values-for-life-changes/) [Marco Pierre White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-pierre-white/) > [Your world will change whether or not you choose to change, but you have the power to choose it's direction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/your-world-will-change-whether-or-not-you-choose-to-change-but-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [I hope I continue to evolve.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-flair/i-hope-i-continue-to-evolve/) [Charlotte Flair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-flair/) > [“Stay focused on bringing people together and more on positive messaging so that you can be the change you wish to see in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/germany-kent/stay-focused-on-bringing-people-together-and-more-on-positive/) [Germany Kent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/germany-kent/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. 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