Rutger Bregman

Rutger C. Bregman
Rutger Bregman
Bregman in 2015
Born (1988-04-26) 26 April 1988
Renesse, Netherlands
Nationality Dutch
Occupation Historian
Known for Basic income, working hours and open borders
Notable work Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World

Rutger C. Bregman (born 1988) is a Dutch historian and author. He has published four books on history, philosophy and economics, including Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World, which has been translated into twenty languages. The Dutch edition of Utopia for Realists "became a national bestseller and sparked a basic income movement that soon made international headlines." His work has been featured in The Washington Post, The Guardian and the BBC. He has been described by The Guardian as the "Dutch wunderkind of new ideas."[1] and by Ted Talks as "one of Europe's most prominent young thinkers." His TED Talk, Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash, was listed as one of the top ten of 2017.

Education

Bregman earned his BA in History at Utrecht University. His MA in History was on Cities, States and Citizenship.

Career

Rutger Bregman is the author of Utopia for Realists: The Case for a Universal Basic Income, Open Borders and a 15-hour Workweek. He writes regularly for online journal The Correspondent[2] and was nominated twice for the European Press Prize for his work there.[3] In 2013 he received the annual book award from the think tank Liberales for the most remarkable Dutch-language non-fiction book, The history of progress. In 2015 he wrote the essay for the Month of Philosophy together with Jesse Frederik. In his student days he was a member of Christian student association SSR-NU.[4]

Ted Talks described him as "one of Europe's most prominent young thinkers."[5]

Utopia for Realists

Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World[6] promotes a more productive and equitable life based an three core ideas which include a universal and unconditional basic income paid to everybody, a short working week of fifteen-hours, and open borders worldwide with the free exchange of citizens between all nations.[7] It was originally written as articles in Dutch for the online journal, The Correspondent.[8]

In an interview with Le Devoir in September 2017, Bregman said that [t]o move forward, a society needs dreams, not nightmares. Yet people are caught in the logic of fear. Whether it is Trump, Brexit or the last elections in Germany" [they long for the past that they thought was better, when it actuality it was worse before]. "Humanity is improving, conditions of life, work, and health too. And it's time to open the windows of our minds to see it."[9]

The Dutch realist Wim Heldens, who paints in the manner of the Dutch interior painters such as Pieter de Hoogh, Johannes Vermeer, and Gerard ter Borch, depicted a hooded, saintly figure holding a hard cover copy of Utopia for Realists in his oil painting 'Saint Hoody'.[10]

Other publications

By 2017 Bregman had published four books, including History of Progress, for which he was awarded the Belgian Liberales prize for best nonfiction book of 2013.[11][12][13]

His articles have been published in The Guardian,[2][14] The Washington Post, the BBC, Evonomics,[15][16] and in The Conversation.[17]

TED Talks

In his TED Talks presentation, Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash, Bregman argued for a universal basic income as a solution to end poverty.[18][19] TED Curator Chris Anderson chose Bregman's talk as one of the top ten of 2017.[20]

Major themes

His major themes include basic income, the work week and open borders.

Basic income

Bregman cites Richard Nixon's 1968 plan for a basic income for Americans.[21] He also cites the Federal project in Dauphin, Manitoba where poverty was eradicated for four years.[22] "The most popular study on the effects of basic income took place in Manitoba between 1974 and 1979 where everyone received a “Mincome” (minimum income) of $9,000 a year (by today's standards) from the government, no strings attached. Evelyn Forget, an economist and professor at the University of Manitoba, who looked over the data from the study says there was a 9 percent reduction in working hours among two main groups of citizens. But the reasons why give insight into how basic income can dramatically change the course of someone's life."[23]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Inside the 17 March edition". The Guardian. 17 March 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018. Books casts an eye over a theory of modern utopia by the Dutch wunderkind of new ideas, Rutger Bregman
  2. 1 2 Bregman, Rutger C. (17 March 2018). "Look at the phone in your hand – you can thank the state for that". The Guardian.
  3. ↑ "Utopia for Realists: This book originated on De Correspondent". De Correspondent. nd. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  4. ↑ "Profile". TED2017. July 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  5. ↑ "Biography: Rutger Bregman, author of Utopia for Realists". Ted Talks. 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018. He has published four books on history, philosophy and economics. His book Utopia for Realists -- on universal basic income and other radical ideas -- has been translated in more than 20 languages. His work has been featured in The Washington Post and The Guardian and on the BBC.
  6. ↑ Rutger Bregman (2017-03-14). Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World. Translated by Elizabeth Manton. Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Book Group USA. ISBN 978-0316471893.
  7. ↑ Rutger Bregman (2017-03-14). Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World. Little, Brown and Company/Hachette Book Group USA. ISBN 978-0316471893.
  8. ↑ This book originated on The Correspondent
  9. ↑ Deglise, Fabien (27 September 2017). "Rutger Bregman et son rêve de faire de l'utopie un pays". Le Devoir. Translated by Google Translate. Pour avancer, une société a besoin de rêves, pas de cauchemars, lance Rutger Bregman, joint cette semaine aux Pays-Bas par Le Devoir. Or, quand on regarde autour de nous, on constate que ces rêves n’arrivent pas à émerger. Les gens sont pris dans la logique du pire, de la peur, de la crainte. Qu’il s’agisse de Trump, du Brexit ou des dernières élections en Allemagne, ils votent contre une perspective d’avenir plutôt que pour des solutions de remplacement, en pensant que le passé était meilleur, ce qui repose sur une vision du monde totalement erronée. Le monde était pire avant. L’humanité ne va qu’en s’améliorant, les conditions de vie, de travail, de santé aussi. Et il est temps d’ouvrir les fenêtres de nos esprits pour le voir.
  10. ↑ Wim Heldens. 2017 http://www.wimheldens.com/paintings/. Retrieved 7 January 2018. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  11. ↑ Bregman, Rutger C. (2013). The History of Progress. de Bezige Bij. ISBN 978-90-2347754-9.
  12. ↑ Rutger C. Bregman. With the knowledge of then, Current problems in the light of history , ed. de Bezige Bij, 2012, ISBN 978-90-2347212-4
  13. ↑ Rutger C. Bregman. Free money for everyone, and five big ideas that can change the world . de Correspondent, Amsterdam, 2014, ISBN 978 90 822 5630 7
  14. ↑ Bregman, Rutger C. "Rutger Bregman: 'We could cut the working week by a third'". The Guardian. "Could this young Dutchman, hailed as a visionary, galvanise the left with his radical plan for a borderless future in which we are all paid for working less?
  15. ↑ "Why Society's Biggest Freeloaders Are at the Top: No, wealth isn't created at the top. It is merely devoured there". 15 April 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2017.
  16. ↑ Bregman, Rutger C.; Frederik, Jesse (21 April 2016). "Why garbage men earn more than bankers". Essay of the Month of Philosophy 2015. Translated by Elizabeth Manton. Lemniscate. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  17. ↑ Heinze, Aleksej (4 September 2015). "Business will suffer if border crossings between European neighbours are shut". The Conversation. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  18. ↑ "Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash". TED2017. April 2017. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  19. ↑ "Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash". TED2017. nd. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  20. ↑ "Curator's Picks: Top 10 TED Talks of 2017". Ted Talks. nd. Retrieved 7 January 2018. The most notable talks of 2017, chosen by TED Curator Chris Anderson
  21. ↑ Jacobin:Nixon’s Basic Income Plan.
  22. ↑ Huffington Post;A Canadian City Once Eliminated Poverty And Nearly Everyone Forgot About It
  23. ↑ Shoemaker, Natalie. "Rutger Bregman's 'Utopia for Realists' Shows Us Why We Deserve Universal Basic Income". Big Think.
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