Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World

Rutger Bregman explores ideas including universal basic income, a 15-hour workweek, and open borders, arguing that building an ideal world is possible today. A Dutch historian, Bregman draws on historical examples and contemporary developments to show how utopian concepts can become reality. Bregman's 2014 TED Talk on universal basic income gained significant attention and prompted serious consideration from economists and government leaders worldwide. His book examines cases such as a Canadian city that eliminated poverty and Richard Nixon's near-implementation of basic income for millions of Americans. He traces how major civilizational advances—from the abolition of slavery to the establishment of democracy—were once dismissed as utopian fantasies before becoming accepted. Bregman argues that ideas like poverty elimination and the 15-hour workweek can be realized within our lifetime. He contends that approaching problems with unrealistic and unreasonable thinking is necessary to make the impossible inevitable and to construct the ideal world.