Rutger Bregman

Yeah, so many, like the not in my backyard attitude is everywhere there. So this is another example of, you know, what we talked about at the beginning of the show, this progressive hypocrisy where you occupy the moral high ground, but you don't actually deliver. So I totally understand that. When a government doesn't deliver, it does make people more skeptical of paying their taxes.

Yeah, so many, like the not in my backyard attitude is everywhere there. So this is another example of, you know, what we talked about at the beginning of the show, this progressive hypocrisy where you occupy the moral high ground, but you don't actually deliver. So I totally understand that. When a government doesn't deliver, it does make people more skeptical of paying their taxes.

On the other hand, why has government been... you know, not been as effective as it used to be. Well, also because it's funding constraint. So it's like this, you get into this.

On the other hand, why has government been... you know, not been as effective as it used to be. Well, also because it's funding constraint. So it's like this, you get into this.

I really like the idea. One other thing that might be easier to implement and to actually do... I don't do easy, I just do good. But maybe some magazine could have like the Forbes 400 version of doing good, right? Where like the entrepreneurs who... yeah, really improve the most people's lives that year. Because we know that many of these billionaires and entrepreneurs, they are ego driven.

I really like the idea. One other thing that might be easier to implement and to actually do... I don't do easy, I just do good. But maybe some magazine could have like the Forbes 400 version of doing good, right? Where like the entrepreneurs who... yeah, really improve the most people's lives that year. Because we know that many of these billionaires and entrepreneurs, they are ego driven.

They're driven by that vanity. So can't we use that energy and that fact of human nature for good? I would really love to see that because I think it would really drive some of those billionaires out there. It would really drive them nuts if they would be very low on the list and they'd be like, oh, next year I want to get that year.

They're driven by that vanity. So can't we use that energy and that fact of human nature for good? I would really love to see that because I think it would really drive some of those billionaires out there. It would really drive them nuts if they would be very low on the list and they'd be like, oh, next year I want to get that year.

This is like the most fundamental currency of society. It's not money, but it's status. It's like, how do you earn respect in a society? One thing that I found out once I was studying these British abolitionists is that they were actually part of a broader cultural shift. So the main British abolitionist was a guy called William Wilberforce, one of those evangelicals.

This is like the most fundamental currency of society. It's not money, but it's status. It's like, how do you earn respect in a society? One thing that I found out once I was studying these British abolitionists is that they were actually part of a broader cultural shift. So the main British abolitionist was a guy called William Wilberforce, one of those evangelicals.

And he actually said that it was his life's mission to make doing good more fashionable. On his deathbed, when he was being asked, like, what are you most proud of? He didn't talk about his leading role in abolishing the slave trade. He said he talked about his missionary activities in India. For him, abolitionism was just a part of something bigger, you know? Yeah.

And he actually said that it was his life's mission to make doing good more fashionable. On his deathbed, when he was being asked, like, what are you most proud of? He didn't talk about his leading role in abolishing the slave trade. He said he talked about his missionary activities in India. For him, abolitionism was just a part of something bigger, you know? Yeah.

And I think, honestly, that's what we need today. We've got to redefine what it means to be successful. And it's fine if people then do it for, yeah, a yearning for a certain kind of status. But yeah, the way we define success today, I think it's ruining us.

And I think, honestly, that's what we need today. We've got to redefine what it means to be successful. And it's fine if people then do it for, yeah, a yearning for a certain kind of status. But yeah, the way we define success today, I think it's ruining us.

In my personal life? Yeah. Well, apart from just becoming a father again. Yeah, so I spent 10 years in what I like to call the awareness business. You know, you write books, you write articles, you stand on stages in Davos or in Vancouver at a tech conference. And then you just hope that some other people will do the actual work of making the world a better place.

In my personal life? Yeah. Well, apart from just becoming a father again. Yeah, so I spent 10 years in what I like to call the awareness business. You know, you write books, you write articles, you stand on stages in Davos or in Vancouver at a tech conference. And then you just hope that some other people will do the actual work of making the world a better place.

And after 10 years of doing that, I became quite fed up with myself. I experienced this emotion. You could call it moral envy. You know, you study some of those pioneers doing their great work today or some of them in the past. And you're like, God, I wish I was like them, right?

And after 10 years of doing that, I became quite fed up with myself. I experienced this emotion. You could call it moral envy. You know, you study some of those pioneers doing their great work today or some of them in the past. And you're like, God, I wish I was like them, right?

I wish I was also actually having some skin in the game and actually taking a risk and not just being on the sidelines giving my opinion. There's this beautiful quote from Theodore Roosevelt about, It's really about the people who are in the arena, not about the people who stand on the sidelines and just share their opinions. So, yeah, that's the journey I'm on right now.

I wish I was also actually having some skin in the game and actually taking a risk and not just being on the sidelines giving my opinion. There's this beautiful quote from Theodore Roosevelt about, It's really about the people who are in the arena, not about the people who stand on the sidelines and just share their opinions. So, yeah, that's the journey I'm on right now.