Rutger Bregman
Goodreads Author
Born
in Westerschouwen, Netherlands
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Member Since
April 2017
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Humankind: A Hopeful History
by
84 editions
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published
2019
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Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World
89 editions
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published
2014
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Het water komt
9 editions
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published
2020
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Waarom vuilnismannen meer verdienen dan bankiers
by
6 editions
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published
2015
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Wat maakt een verzetsheld?
3 editions
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published
2021
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De geschiedenis van de vooruitgang
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Humankind A Hopeful History / Utopia for Realists And How We Can Get There
by
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published
2020
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Met de kennis van toen: Actuele problemen in het licht van de geschiedenis
3 editions
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published
2012
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Hoe haal ik mijn tentamen
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Humankind
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“The great milestones of civilization always have the whiff of utopia about them at first. According to renowned sociologist Albert Hirschman, utopias are initially attacked on three grounds: futility (it’s not possible), danger (the risks are too great), and perversity (it will degenerate into dystopia). But Hirschman also wrote that almost as soon as a utopia becomes a reality, it often comes to be seen as utterly commonplace. Not so very long ago, democracy still seemed a glorious utopia. Many a great mind, from the philosopher Plato (427–347 B.C.) to the statesman Edmund Burke (1729–97), warned that democracy was futile (the masses were too foolish to handle it), dangerous (majority rule would be akin to playing with fire), and perverse (the “general interest” would soon be corrupted by the interests of some crafty general or other). Compare this with the arguments against basic income. It’s supposedly futile because we can’t pay for it, dangerous because people would quit working, and perverse because ultimately a minority would end up having to toil harder to support the majority.”
― Utopia for Realists: And How We Can Get There
― Utopia for Realists: And How We Can Get There
“Poverty is fundamentally about a lack of cash. It’s not about stupidity,” stresses”
― Utopia for Realists: The Case for a Universal Basic Income, Open Borders, and a 15-hour Workweek
― Utopia for Realists: The Case for a Universal Basic Income, Open Borders, and a 15-hour Workweek
“Besides being blind to lots of good things, the GDP also benefits from all manner of human suffering. Gridlock, drug abuse, adultery? Goldmines for gas stations, rehab centers, and divorce attorneys. If you were the GDP, your ideal citizen would be a compulsive gambler with cancer who’s going through a drawn-out divorce that he copes with by popping fistfuls of Prozac and going berserk on Black Friday. Environmental pollution even does double duty: One company makes a mint by cutting corners while another is paid to clean up the mess. By contrast, a centuries-old tree doesn’t count until you chop it down and sell it as lumber.”
― Utopia for Realists: And How We Can Get There
― Utopia for Realists: And How We Can Get There
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