Moral Ambition cover art

Moral Ambition

Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference – from the presenter of the 2025 BBC ‘Moral Revolution’ Reith lectures

Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

Bloomsbury presents Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman, read by Boris Hiestand and Rutger Bregman.

THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE SUMMER 2025
__________

'A fierce and brilliant call to arms for anyone who has been wondering whether there's more to life. (There is.) Bregman wants to change you, and he just might succeed. This is a wonderfully dangerous book' TIM HARFORD

'The rare read that might actually help you become a better person' ADAM GRANT
__________

THE ANTIDOTE TO APATHY FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR AND 2025 BBC REITH LECTURER RUTGER BREGMAN

Every day we're bombarded with methods, mantras and life hacks that promise us wellness and prosperity - while time and talent remain some of our most squandered resources. The average full-time worker will spend 80,000 hours at their job: are you making the most of them? Do you truly believe in what you do, day in, day out?

What if you want to do something more with your limited time on the planet?

Internationally bestselling author Rutger Bregman shows us that with moral ambition - the will to make the world a wildly better place - we can be both idealistic and successful, and change the world along the way. Uncovering the qualities that made the great change-makers of history so effective, he shows how we too can lend our talents to the biggest challenges of our time, from climate change to inequality to the next pandemic. With moral ambition, we can do more than be on the right side of history: we can make history itself.

This book won't make your life easier, but it should make it more meaningful. The question is: what will you do with it?

©2025 Rutger Bregman (P)2025 Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
Best of 2025 Business Ethics Career Success Civics & Citizenship Editors Select Ethics & Morality Philosophy Politics & Government Workplace & Organisational Behavior Thought-Provoking Inspiring Morality

Editorial Review

A deprogramming guide for chronic inconsequence
Rutger Bregman warns you at the start of his book that you might actually regret listening because "once you put it down you might just have to change your life." Not unlike Alan Carr or Annie Grace, who have helped millions tackle addictions with the repeated written insistence that they can, Bregman—the renowned Dutch historian who went viral for outraging the world's rich and powerful at Davos—is here to convince you through repetitive assertion that the world needs your talents. He argues that the point of life isn't to be happy but to maximize your impact, and the unfortunate fact is that most of the world's best brains are being used to maximize ad clicks, not solutions to human suffering. Both a wellness industry antidote and a rich history of effective change, Moral Ambition begs you to think not about "What's my passion?" but rather "How can I contribute the most to the world?" If enough people answer his call, it could be that the most large-scale, measurable impact Bregman will have is with this book.—Emily C., Audible Editor

All stars
Most relevant
Thought provoking and inspirational book. so many interesting statistics and amazing stories if how we as humans can make a difference even if only small.

brilliant

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

If everyone read this book and adopted the basic principles advocated by Bregman, whether as individuals or as a group, and ultimately became a group of groups, collectively we would have a powerful force.

How to Change the World for the Better

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

I liked everything - the calm inescapable rationality of the arguments, and the excellent narration. I'm sorry not to have found it earlier.

The sheer brilliance and challenge of Rutger Bregman. inspirational.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Interesting and well researched. Not preachy but inspiring. Well read. Lots about trying to save/improve lives- taking action in any small way…not enough on saving the planet and single use plastic however !

Inspiring and educational

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Beware after listening to this you might want to quit your job. Great audiobook, very insightful, highly recommend!

Life changing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews