16 books
—
5 voters
Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read.
Start by marking “Gratis geld voor iedereen” as Want to Read:
Gratis geld voor iedereen
by
Het probleem is niet dat we het niet goed hebben, het probleem is dat we niet weten hoe het beter kan. In deze tijd, met koopkracht als laatste ideaal, schetst historicus Rutger Bregman nieuwe vergezichten. Van een basisinkomen voor iedereen tot een werkweek van vijftien uur, van een wereld zonder grenzen tot een wereld zonder armoede - het is tijd voor de terugkeer van de
...more
Paperback, zesde herziene druk, 257 pages
Published
November 2016
by De Correspondent
(first published September 14th 2014)
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
Reader Q&A
To ask other readers questions about
Gratis geld voor iedereen,
please sign up.
Popular Answered Questions
Community Reviews
Showing 1-30

Start your review of Gratis geld voor iedereen

”A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing. And when Humanity lands there, it looks out, and, seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realization of Utopias.”---Oscar Wilde.
Rutger Bregman, the Dutch historian, first came to my attention when recently he got into a tiff with Tucker Carlson. The footage and audio was leaked, and though I wasn’t surprised to hear Carlson get upset ...more
Rutger Bregman, the Dutch historian, first came to my attention when recently he got into a tiff with Tucker Carlson. The footage and audio was leaked, and though I wasn’t surprised to hear Carlson get upset ...more

What a painful book to read during the first week of Trump's administration. I swear every time I finished a chapter, a new policy would be announced that completely moved the needle of social progress in the other direction. Solving poverty with a universal basic income? Nope, here's a Secretary of Labor who thinks the minimum wage is already too high. Reform the banking system so it's not one of the largest drivers of the economy? Let me introduce you to the newest Goldman Sachs exec to run a
...more

If you like progressive, pro welfare state, social security, in a nutshell, the Nordic model praising nonfiction with hard facts and undeniable, logical argumentations, some of them the first time presented to a larger audience, this is your new favorite.
After having read Klein, Chomsky, and Ziegler, who are all primarily talking about the problems and showing some ways out of the dilemma, I find this new approach towards less ranting and more solutions very positive. What it differentiates fro ...more
After having read Klein, Chomsky, and Ziegler, who are all primarily talking about the problems and showing some ways out of the dilemma, I find this new approach towards less ranting and more solutions very positive. What it differentiates fro ...more

Capitalist or communist, it all boils down to a pointless distinction between two types of poor, and to a major misconception that we almost managed to dispel some 40 years ago – the fallacy that a life without poverty is a privilege you have to work for, rather than a right we all deserve.
A breezy read with ideas that are backed up by genuinely interesting statistics and anecdotes.
Argues that we can better society and move towards utopia by implementing three ideas: a 15 hour workweek, a univer ...more
A breezy read with ideas that are backed up by genuinely interesting statistics and anecdotes.
Argues that we can better society and move towards utopia by implementing three ideas: a 15 hour workweek, a univer ...more

Radical ideas, at first glance, but all put forward in this book aren't unreasonable, neither are they unrealistic. They are logically presented and supported with facts and tons of research and history.
It is an enlightening read, and I wish politicians and policy makers would read books like this. If only to widen their imagination and deepen thoughts and debates on possible courses of action on the problem plaguing the world.
Highly recommended. ...more
It is an enlightening read, and I wish politicians and policy makers would read books like this. If only to widen their imagination and deepen thoughts and debates on possible courses of action on the problem plaguing the world.
Highly recommended. ...more

Something I hear not infrequently at the moment is a prediction that this crisis is going to really, really make a difference. The world will never be the same again. At that point in the conversation - and there are damned few conversations to be had right now, but nevertheless, at that point I tend to go a bit quiet. Because what I'm thinking is 'BULLSHIT'. (Which I'm too polite to say). 'Cos what I'm thinking is, actually, people have really, really short memories and those who haven't been l
...more

Really wanted to like this. I'm a big fan of The Correspondent's journalism, and believe that basic income is an important idea whose time might have come. It was certainly interesting to learn more about the history, and the few studies that have been undertaken. Also fascinating to learn more about the history and failings of GDP as a measure.
However the attempts to persuade seemed full of holes and contradictions. One minute the author is complaining about how technological progress has slowe ...more
However the attempts to persuade seemed full of holes and contradictions. One minute the author is complaining about how technological progress has slowe ...more

I respond to utopian thinking the way any other moderately-informed liberal does: "Well, wouldn't that be nice o_O" But the more I read of Bregman's book, the more my resistance melted away. Why aren't we setting our sights higher than adding a dollar to the minimum wage and opposing Trump's wall? Hell, you wanna address unemployment as a result of automation? Why not support a universal basic income and a shorter work week! You'd also take a couple of steps towards gender equality to boot! By t
...more

I was probably misguided as I thought this book would deal predominantly with the idea of a basic income. Specifically, i was intrested in the arguments pro and against it and, preferably, an analysis how it is possible to implement, the impact of automation and which steps might be taken right now. But this book is much broader in scope, and at the same time, pretty shallow. The book is more about the current state of the world with inequality, too much work for some and no for the others, the
...more

The modern creed – or worse, the belief that there’s nothing left to believe in – makes us blind to the shortsightedness and injustice that still surround us every day. To give a few examples: Why have we been working harder and harder since the 1980s despite being richer than ever? Why are millions of people still living in poverty when we are more than rich enough to put an end to it once and for all? And why is more than 60% of your income depends on the country where you just happen to ha
...more

Feb 14, 2021
jade
rated it
liked it
Recommends it for:
readers who are new to & interested in UBI, a 15-hour work week, and open borders
Recommended to jade by:
a colleague who's been trying to shove "humankind: a hopeful history" down my throat since forever
“poverty is fundamentally about a lack of cash. it’s not about stupidity.”
a short and concise argument for a modern utopia.
pop historian and journalist bregman lays it all out for the reader: in this day and age, basically everyone in the world is better off than we were for 99% of the time that humans have existed. even the most downtrodden of us have it better than some lowly peasant from the 1500s; we’ve already gone beyond the horizons of what people could’ve possibly imagined in ...more

A reasonably good summary of the history of universal basic income and the drive to a shorter working week, although if you've read a few long essays on those topics it's unlikely you'll learn much.
Unfortunately the book is spoiled by a few things. Firstly, while I get that it has a point of view that it's conveying (one that I agree with!), I could've done with more opposing arguments, if only to arm myself in future.
Secondly, one of the arguments is for open borders, which the author suggests ...more
Unfortunately the book is spoiled by a few things. Firstly, while I get that it has a point of view that it's conveying (one that I agree with!), I could've done with more opposing arguments, if only to arm myself in future.
Secondly, one of the arguments is for open borders, which the author suggests ...more

Loved it.
I'm going to share some of the excerpts I liked.
1. Whether you look at the incidents of depression, burnout, drug abuse, high dropout rates, obesity, unhappy childhoods, low election turnout or social and political distrusts, the evidence points to the same culprit every time - inequality. But hold on -- what should it matter if some people are filthy rich if even those who are very poor are better off than the kings of centuries ago? A lot. Because it’s all about relative poverty. How ...more
I'm going to share some of the excerpts I liked.
1. Whether you look at the incidents of depression, burnout, drug abuse, high dropout rates, obesity, unhappy childhoods, low election turnout or social and political distrusts, the evidence points to the same culprit every time - inequality. But hold on -- what should it matter if some people are filthy rich if even those who are very poor are better off than the kings of centuries ago? A lot. Because it’s all about relative poverty. How ...more

⫸3.25 STARS
⤐ Overall.
Phew. This is an interesting read for sure. If anything, Rutger gives some interesting scientific proof to things I've until now only found morally right, such as a basic income, stop underpaying essential jobs, less working, more recreation, etc. Basically, Rutger describes the Utopia I'm interested in. It's unbelievable how wealthy the bigger part of the society is in th ...more
This book is for you if… you like great visions more than substantial ideas on how to get there.
⤐ Overall.
Phew. This is an interesting read for sure. If anything, Rutger gives some interesting scientific proof to things I've until now only found morally right, such as a basic income, stop underpaying essential jobs, less working, more recreation, etc. Basically, Rutger describes the Utopia I'm interested in. It's unbelievable how wealthy the bigger part of the society is in th ...more

My father once told me that he felt I was very pessimistic, to which I replied that I was too much of a realist to be an optimist. Don’t get me wrong, when stuff is good, I am more than happy to celebrate it, but I’m also not the type to pretend everything is great when things are objectively terrible. The title “Utopia for Realists” grabbed me right away, because I’m pretty sure that if you ask any so-called realist, you’ll find they want nothing more than to believe the world could be a better
...more

I am yet to listen to this audiobook. It has such an ugly cover I nearly didn't buy it, but it was an Audible "Daily Deal" for just $2.99 and I was particularly motivated by Jeffrey Keeten's review.
...more

Aug 10, 2020
Laura Noggle
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nonfiction,
2020
Extremely interesting, and something I've been wondering about/reading up on for years.
Hopefully not just a pipe dream—but I have little faith in humanity at this point. ...more
Hopefully not just a pipe dream—but I have little faith in humanity at this point. ...more

How far can a Western Social Democrat go? This book reaches (runs into?) its limits…
The Good:
--Top marks for accessibility; engaging writing-style especially for Western audiences, like that of David Graeber and Matt Taibbi.
--Dutch historian Bregman joins Development economist Ha-Joon Chang as leading Social Democrats; highlights from this book:
1) UBI, automation, reducing work, and bullshit jobs: the core of the book, with engaging historical narrative and case studies. Also, useful chapter br ...more
The Good:
--Top marks for accessibility; engaging writing-style especially for Western audiences, like that of David Graeber and Matt Taibbi.
--Dutch historian Bregman joins Development economist Ha-Joon Chang as leading Social Democrats; highlights from this book:
1) UBI, automation, reducing work, and bullshit jobs: the core of the book, with engaging historical narrative and case studies. Also, useful chapter br ...more

We have lost our vision, Rutger Bregman writes, mired in old paradigms and blind to the possibilities we should be imagining. We could be realizing the world predicted by 20th c thinkers.
Subtitled "How We Can Build The Ideal World," Utopia for Realists is an international best seller, first published in the Netherlands where it ignited a debate and inspired a movement.
Bregman begins by reminding us of how recently life was a "vale of tears," "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short," as philoso ...more
Subtitled "How We Can Build The Ideal World," Utopia for Realists is an international best seller, first published in the Netherlands where it ignited a debate and inspired a movement.
Bregman begins by reminding us of how recently life was a "vale of tears," "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish and short," as philoso ...more

Is it hyperbolic to say that this book may change the world?
If you've already read about Universal Basic Income (UBI), or really anything by a good myth-busting economist which challenges our current era of capitalism, then Utopia for Realists may not teach you too much that you don't already know. Overall Rutger Bregman''s way is just to summarize some main big ideas into a readable paperback, and yet that is the whole point.
There are plenty of graphs which will convince the reader that incom ...more
If you've already read about Universal Basic Income (UBI), or really anything by a good myth-busting economist which challenges our current era of capitalism, then Utopia for Realists may not teach you too much that you don't already know. Overall Rutger Bregman''s way is just to summarize some main big ideas into a readable paperback, and yet that is the whole point.
There are plenty of graphs which will convince the reader that incom ...more

Makes a solid case for universal basic income using some recent studies as well as some misunderstood older studies. I think I would recommend Graeber or even Doughnut economics for the theory behind some of the concepts in here, but this is a quick read and a great primer on why we have too many bullshit jobs and why poverty is not a moral failing. I'd say read the others first and then come here, but this is a nice start too. Others to read: Scarcity, David Graeber, Picketty, etc...
...more

Oct 30, 2019
Matthew Quann
rated it
liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
non-fiction,
science
Though its fairly rare for me to read nonfiction--you'll usually find me digesting these books in the audio versions--this book caught my eye during a Kindle sale. I've been trying my best to broaden my understanding of not only the problems facing the world, but reasonable solutions. Utopia for Realists proposes three concepts (universal basic income, a 15-hour work week, and open borders) that often come up during political debates for which I had little opinion prior to reading.
Fortunately, I ...more
Fortunately, I ...more

Dec 12, 2016
Kamyar malzoom
rated it
did not like it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
ready-to-read
I'm getting my masters in finance and going to get my Ph.D. in finance too, so not an economist, but I know a great deal about economics (studied tons of materials both in academic settings and for fun).
This book is NOT realistic AT ALL, the numbers just simply don't add up. If you know anything about macroeconomics and theory of markets, the alternative proposed in this book is just laughable. This guy is a journalist and "historian" (although not really a historian) so it's acceptable that he ...more
This book is NOT realistic AT ALL, the numbers just simply don't add up. If you know anything about macroeconomics and theory of markets, the alternative proposed in this book is just laughable. This guy is a journalist and "historian" (although not really a historian) so it's acceptable that he ...more

I ended up really liking this book. It explores a lot of ideas that we reflexively reject, likely because they go against common sense. Ideas like "just give poor people cash" seem not only politically infeasible, but unwise. And sadly, our politics is dictated by soundbites and conventional wisdom, and we wonder why we only dig ourselves deeper into wealth inequality and dissatisfaction with government at all levels.
This book explores concepts like universal basic income, open borders, and cash ...more
This book explores concepts like universal basic income, open borders, and cash ...more

Nov 30, 2020
Rhea (Rufus Reads)
rated it
really liked it
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
nonfiction,
favorites
Fifteen hour workweek, universal basic income, and open borders... and lots of advice to the progressive liberals on how to walk towards an alternative world, a utopia.
Commendable that such a small book packs so much ~ detailed review to (hopefully) follow once this book's sunk in. ...more
Commendable that such a small book packs so much ~ detailed review to (hopefully) follow once this book's sunk in. ...more

Utopia for Realists: How we Can Build the Ideal World, by Rutger Bregman, is a fascinating book about the idea of Utopia in a modern, realistic context. Early concepts of Utopia revolved around basic needs; food falling from the sky, safety and health, and so on. Bregman says we are there already. Food is no longer scarce in most countries, and poverty rates and crime is down globally - to the lowest levels in history. Instead, many nations are grappling with other issues - overwork, obesity, la
...more

Stunning book on basic income, lesser working hours (and leisure), poverty and a world with no borders.
I underlines this paragraph: "Sadly, the underdog socialist has forgotten that the story of the left ought to be a narrative of hope and progress... The greatest sin of the academic left is that it has become fundamentally aristocratic, writing in bizarre jargon that makes simple matters dizzyingly complex. If you can't explain your ideal to a fairly intelligent twelve-year-old, after all, it' ...more
I underlines this paragraph: "Sadly, the underdog socialist has forgotten that the story of the left ought to be a narrative of hope and progress... The greatest sin of the academic left is that it has become fundamentally aristocratic, writing in bizarre jargon that makes simple matters dizzyingly complex. If you can't explain your ideal to a fairly intelligent twelve-year-old, after all, it' ...more

Great clip here where Rutger Bregman points out that Fox New's Tucker Carlson is "a millionaire funded by billionaires" and as a result gets called a "moron" and told to "f**k off" by Carlson simply for stating the obvious.
Very entertaining and well worth a watch. Strangely Fox News decided not to broadcast the clip but it was leaked anyway.
Historian who confronted Davos billionaires leaks Tucker Carlson rant ...more
Very entertaining and well worth a watch. Strangely Fox News decided not to broadcast the clip but it was leaked anyway.
Historian who confronted Davos billionaires leaks Tucker Carlson rant ...more
topics | posts | views | last activity | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Goodreads Librari...: Please merge or combine | 3 | 203 | Nov 21, 2016 07:43AM |
Rutger Bregman is a Dutch historian, author and journalist. He studied at Utrecht University and the University of California, Los Angeles and is known for popularizing topics related to social and economic innovation measures and their history through, among others, universal basic income and shorter work weeks.
Rutger Bregman is a journalist at The Correspondent, and one of Europe's most prominen ...more
Rutger Bregman is a journalist at The Correspondent, and one of Europe's most prominen ...more
News & Interviews
Kazuo Ishiguro insists he’s an optimist about technology.
“I'm not one of these people who thinks it's going to come and destroy us,” he...
252 likes · 26 comments
No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »
“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.”
—
28 likes
“Poverty is fundamentally about a lack of cash. It’s not about stupidity,” stresses”
—
24 likes
More quotes…