Rutger Bregman

I think we've got to talk much more about the actual positive things we can do to make this world a much better place. And what history teaches me is that that always starts with groups coming together. There's this beautiful quote from Margaret Mead, the anthropologist, who said that we should never doubt the power of small groups of thoughtful, committed citizens to change the world.

I think we've got to talk much more about the actual positive things we can do to make this world a much better place. And what history teaches me is that that always starts with groups coming together. There's this beautiful quote from Margaret Mead, the anthropologist, who said that we should never doubt the power of small groups of thoughtful, committed citizens to change the world.

In fact, it's the only thing that ever has. So I guess we need safe spaces for do-gooders who come together, places where you... Don't have to be embarrassed that you actually believe that some things could be radically improved. So that's, I guess, my most important advice. Find those bubbles, those cults maybe of people who are actually like, yeah, we're not cynical.

In fact, it's the only thing that ever has. So I guess we need safe spaces for do-gooders who come together, places where you... Don't have to be embarrassed that you actually believe that some things could be radically improved. So that's, I guess, my most important advice. Find those bubbles, those cults maybe of people who are actually like, yeah, we're not cynical.

We're actually going to do something. We're actually going to build something.

We're actually going to do something. We're actually going to build something.

Well, take a look at all these Ivy League universities. Read the college essays of the students when they come in. And it's all about the big problems they want to solve. They want to work at the UN, solving world hunger. They want to fight the next pandemic. They want to fight the tobacco industry, create beautiful new innovations that make this world a much better place.

Well, take a look at all these Ivy League universities. Read the college essays of the students when they come in. And it's all about the big problems they want to solve. They want to work at the UN, solving world hunger. They want to fight the next pandemic. They want to fight the tobacco industry, create beautiful new innovations that make this world a much better place.

And then the years go by and McKinsey knocks on their door and they end up being a strategy consultant or a corporate lawyer or a banker. And something is lost along the way. And I think that waste of talent is really one of the greatest wastes of our time.

And then the years go by and McKinsey knocks on their door and they end up being a strategy consultant or a corporate lawyer or a banker. And something is lost along the way. And I think that waste of talent is really one of the greatest wastes of our time.

I would love to live in a society where the most ambitious, talented, driven people who've been given a lot also work on the most pressing and important issues. So that's actually why I've moved to New York. We're kickstarting the US chapter of the school for moral ambition. That's what my next book is called.

I would love to live in a society where the most ambitious, talented, driven people who've been given a lot also work on the most pressing and important issues. So that's actually why I've moved to New York. We're kickstarting the US chapter of the school for moral ambition. That's what my next book is called.

So moral ambition is the combination of the idealism of an activist plus the ambition of an entrepreneur. Moral ambition. Okay. We basically want to help as many people as possible to quit those soul crunching, not super socially useful jobs and to work on something that actually matters. I think we got to redefine what it means to be successful.

So moral ambition is the combination of the idealism of an activist plus the ambition of an entrepreneur. Moral ambition. Okay. We basically want to help as many people as possible to quit those soul crunching, not super socially useful jobs and to work on something that actually matters. I think we got to redefine what it means to be successful.

Successful is not about having that corner office or having that fancy LinkedIn resume. It's about making an actual difference and make future historians proud. That's what being successful really should be about.

Successful is not about having that corner office or having that fancy LinkedIn resume. It's about making an actual difference and make future historians proud. That's what being successful really should be about.

What do you think? Well, I think that meaning is created by humans. And I guess one of our messages to all these, you know, privileged and wealthy people, some of them, you know, who get so rich that they can buy a building on Harvard and have it named after them. The message is like, no one's going to remember you for that.

What do you think? Well, I think that meaning is created by humans. And I guess one of our messages to all these, you know, privileged and wealthy people, some of them, you know, who get so rich that they can buy a building on Harvard and have it named after them. The message is like, no one's going to remember you for that.

No one's going to give a shit 100 years from now that your name on is on it. They'll have to ask Chet GPT if that still exists. Like, who the fuck is this guy? And, you know, we talked earlier about the British abolitionists. One thing that struck me is that the British Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was founded by 12 individuals. One of them was a writer.

No one's going to give a shit 100 years from now that your name on is on it. They'll have to ask Chet GPT if that still exists. Like, who the fuck is this guy? And, you know, we talked earlier about the British abolitionists. One thing that struck me is that the British Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade was founded by 12 individuals. One of them was a writer.