Utopia for Realists audiobook cover - And How We Can Get There

Utopia for Realists

And How We Can Get There

Rutger Bregman

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Society & CultureEconomics

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Utopia for Realists
The Modern Paradox+
Universal Basic Income & Free Money+
Redefining Progress+
The 15-Hour Workweek+
Rethinking Work & Value+
Technology & Inequality+
Open Borders+

Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Question 1 of 8
According to the book, what is a primary reason organizations often resist giving unconditional cash to impoverished people?
  • A. It is logistically difficult to distribute cash safely in developing nations.
  • B. They believe it will cause hyperinflation in local economies.
  • C. They hold an entrenched belief that handouts will breed laziness and vice.
  • D. Studies show that people prefer receiving physical assets like cows or solar panels.
Question 2 of 8
What did historical trials during the Nixon era reveal about the impact of a Universal Basic Income (UBI) on work ethic?
  • A. Paid work dropped by over 40%, confirming fears of widespread laziness.
  • B. Paid work reduced only slightly, primarily because mothers of young children and students cut back on hours.
  • C. People completely stopped working and instead spent the money on luxury goods.
  • D. Paid work actually increased as people used the money to start small businesses.
Question 3 of 8
Why does the author argue that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a fundamentally flawed measure of a nation's well-being?
  • A. It fails to account for inflation and seasonal economic variations.
  • B. It places too much emphasis on leisure time and social cohesion.
  • C. It is a completely objective metric that ignores subjective human experiences.
  • D. It does a poor job of measuring technological advances and can actually increase as a result of human suffering.
Question 4 of 8
According to the text, why did the historical trend toward a shorter workweek stall in the 1980s?
  • A. Economic growth slowed down, making shorter workweeks unaffordable.
  • B. Society chose to translate economic growth into increased consumption rather than more leisure time.
  • C. Labor unions lost their power to negotiate for better hours.
  • D. Automation and technology required humans to work longer hours to keep up with machines.
Question 5 of 8
What did the contrasting strikes of New York sanitation workers and Irish bank employees demonstrate?
  • A. That high-paying, prestigious jobs do not necessarily create the most essential wealth or value for society.
  • B. That financial systems are entirely unnecessary in a modern economy.
  • C. That public sector workers are inherently more productive than private sector workers.
  • D. That strikes are an ineffective way to negotiate better wages in the modern era.
Question 6 of 8
What phenomenon do economists Brynjolfsson and McAfee refer to as the 'great decoupling'?
  • A. The separation of national economies due to strict border controls and tariffs.
  • B. The shift of human labor from physical, muscle-based work to cognitive, brain-based work.
  • C. The divergence where technological productivity continues to rise, but job creation slows and median incomes fall.
  • D. The growing gap between the salaries of CEOs and the wages of average factory workers.
Question 7 of 8
To combat the extreme inequality predicted in the coming machine age, what radical solution does the text propose?
  • A. Banning the development of advanced artificial intelligence.
  • B. Rejecting the idea that everyone must work for a living and implementing massive wealth redistribution.
  • C. Forcing tech companies like Instagram to hire as many employees as legacy companies like Kodak.
  • D. Shifting the global workforce back to agricultural and manual labor jobs.
Question 8 of 8
According to the text, what single policy change has the potential to generate $65 trillion and massively boost global wealth?
  • A. Eradicating all global restrictions on capital movement.
  • B. Implementing a universal basic income in every developing nation.
  • C. Establishing a global, progressive tax on wealth.
  • D. Opening national borders to allow the free movement of people.

Utopia for Realists — Full Chapter Overview

Utopia for Realists Summary & Overview

Utopia for Realists (2016) is a call to arms for a radical rethinking of life, work and how society functions. It argues that the world enjoys unprecedented wealth and material comfort but is still full of problems, from soul-destroying jobs to inequality and poverty. We have the power to solve these problems and build a better future if we embrace utopian thinking.

Who Should Listen to Utopia for Realists?

  • Blue-sky thinkers
  • Socially engaged people who want to eradicate poverty 
  • Frustrated citizens who feel there must be a better way to organize our society and economy

About the Author: Rutger Bregman

Rutger Bregman is a Dutch historian, author and internet sensation. His 2017 TED Talk “Poverty isn’t a lack of character; It’s a lack of cash” has been viewed 2.7 million times, and he was catapulted to internet fame by a clip of him at the 2019 Davos conference criticizing billionaires about taxation. A renowned advocate of Universal Basic Income, Bregman has published four other books in Dutch.

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