Utopia for Realists: And How We Can Get There

by Rutger Bregman

he forgets that, all the while, the bankers and the lawyers are polishing turds at the expense of waste collectors and nurses.

Stop for a moment to ponder the billions of tax dollars being pumped into training society’s best brains, all so they can learn how to exploit other people as efficiently as possible, and it makes your head spin.

The biggest regret was: “I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.” Number two: “I wish I didn’t work so hard.”

Everyone who reckons themselves progressive should be a beacon of not just energy but ideas, not only indignation but hope, and equal parts ethics and hard sell.

And the best way to shut people up is to make them feel silly. It’s even better than censorship, because people are almost guaranteed to hold their tongues.

First, realize that there are more people out there like you. Lots and lots of people. I’ve met countless readers who told me that while they believe absolutely in the ideas from this book, they see the world as a corrupt and greedy place. My answer to them was this: turn off the TV, look around you, and organize. Most people really do have their hearts in the right place.

If we want to change the world, we need to be unrealistic, unreasonable, and impossible.