Rutger Bregman

And they took me to lectures about anthropology and philosophy. I discovered people like Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein. And that was the first time in my life that my definition of success changed. And I became super curious. I wanted to read everything. In our student house, I built this system that you could listen to classes from professors, even when you were taking a shower, right?

And they took me to lectures about anthropology and philosophy. I discovered people like Bertrand Russell and Ludwig Wittgenstein. And that was the first time in my life that my definition of success changed. And I became super curious. I wanted to read everything. In our student house, I built this system that you could listen to classes from professors, even when you were taking a shower, right?

So there was a cable going from my room through the attic, then through the ceiling to the shower. And then I would always annoy people by... Putting on lectures from Maarten van Rossum, who's a famous Dutch historian. But I guess my definition of success changed once again, once I achieved those first dreams. Like, I honestly, I mean, I wanted to become a bestselling author.

So there was a cable going from my room through the attic, then through the ceiling to the shower. And then I would always annoy people by... Putting on lectures from Maarten van Rossum, who's a famous Dutch historian. But I guess my definition of success changed once again, once I achieved those first dreams. Like, I honestly, I mean, I wanted to become a bestselling author.

I wanted to write big books. But then you've done that and you've written a big book about human nature and you're in your early 30s and you're like, okay, what's the next ladder? And how can I use what I have to do much more good? Honestly, it was also the experience of becoming a bit more wealthy. I mean... I'm not a billionaire, but I am a bestselling author.

I wanted to write big books. But then you've done that and you've written a big book about human nature and you're in your early 30s and you're like, okay, what's the next ladder? And how can I use what I have to do much more good? Honestly, it was also the experience of becoming a bit more wealthy. I mean... I'm not a billionaire, but I am a bestselling author.

So I became much richer than I ever expected I would. At first, I thought I would just become a history teacher or something like that. So that also caused me to question like, okay, but then what do I actually do with this? I need to invest it in something. I already have a house. We have a car. I don't need two cars. I can only drive one car at a time. I guess that also led me on this journey.

So I became much richer than I ever expected I would. At first, I thought I would just become a history teacher or something like that. So that also caused me to question like, okay, but then what do I actually do with this? I need to invest it in something. I already have a house. We have a car. I don't need two cars. I can only drive one car at a time. I guess that also led me on this journey.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Well, Bertrand Russell certainly had his cynical moments, and I totally understand that. In the fervor of the First World War, where even so many people, you know, who may have described themselves as pacifists not that much earlier, were swept up in this fervor. Yeah, it's a dark truth about humanity, is that we can go nuts. Sometimes pretty quickly. Look, I don't know where we'll go from here.

Well, Bertrand Russell certainly had his cynical moments, and I totally understand that. In the fervor of the First World War, where even so many people, you know, who may have described themselves as pacifists not that much earlier, were swept up in this fervor. Yeah, it's a dark truth about humanity, is that we can go nuts. Sometimes pretty quickly. Look, I don't know where we'll go from here.

I guess where I find hope is that I know of historical examples, eras in which things got really dark as well, eras that were incredibly immoral, incredibly unequal, where we just had elites that were incredibly irresponsible and selfish. And then there was a counter movement, a cultural revolution that was actually started by elites. And I think we desperately need that today.

I guess where I find hope is that I know of historical examples, eras in which things got really dark as well, eras that were incredibly immoral, incredibly unequal, where we just had elites that were incredibly irresponsible and selfish. And then there was a counter movement, a cultural revolution that was actually started by elites. And I think we desperately need that today.

Someone said this to me recently. If you are watching the news right now and you're not terrified for yourself, you still have some measure of comfort because you have some savings, because you have a nice job.

Someone said this to me recently. If you are watching the news right now and you're not terrified for yourself, you still have some measure of comfort because you have some savings, because you have a nice job.

then you are the person who needs to stand up right now and we see an enormous amount of cowardice sadly but i guess i found hope in the simple knowledge that it only takes a small group of people to start spreading a different story and a different mentality and i like to see some signs here and there that that may be happening and i just want to put more oil in that fire

then you are the person who needs to stand up right now and we see an enormous amount of cowardice sadly but i guess i found hope in the simple knowledge that it only takes a small group of people to start spreading a different story and a different mentality and i like to see some signs here and there that that may be happening and i just want to put more oil in that fire

So it's pretty simple. It's a combination of two things. It's the idealism of an activist, on the one hand, and the ambition of an entrepreneur. So it's the desire to stand on the right side of history before it is fashionable and to really devote your career, your precious time on this earth, to make this world a much better place.

So it's pretty simple. It's a combination of two things. It's the idealism of an activist, on the one hand, and the ambition of an entrepreneur. So it's the desire to stand on the right side of history before it is fashionable and to really devote your career, your precious time on this earth, to make this world a much better place.