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  • Utopia for Realists

  • By: Rutger Bregman
  • Narrated by: Peter Noble
  • Length: 6 hrs and 32 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (2,216 ratings)
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Utopia for Realists

By: Rutger Bregman
Narrated by: Peter Noble
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Summary

We live in a time of unprecedented upheaval, when technology and so-called progress have made us richer but more uncertain than ever before. We have questions about the future, society, work, happiness, family and money, and yet no political party of the right or left is providing us with answers. So, too, does the time seem to be coming to an end when we looked to economists to help us define the qualities necessary to create a successful society.

We need a new movement. One defined by a young historian who can tell us the truth about how we got here. They'd be a political outsider, the voice of their generation, one who doesn't harness rage or agitate grievances but who provides us with the answers for which we've been looking. That person is Rutger Bregman, and his vision is Utopia for Realists.

©2017 Rutger Bregman (P)2017 Audible, Ltd

What listeners say about Utopia for Realists

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Food for thought...


I picked up this book off the back of watching Adam Curtis' BBC film Hyper normalisation (which I highly recommend) as it investigated his contention that:

"We live in a strange time. Extraordinary events keep happening, which undermine the stability of our world. Suicide bombs, waves of refugees, Donald Trump, Vladamir Putin and even brexit Yet those in control seem unable to deal with it. And no one has any ideas as to how we can change or a future to aim for."

This book explores possible solutions to the problems that we face in current times and going forwards with the introduction of the robots and automation (leading to massive loss of jobs) , increasing disparity between the rich and poor.

It delves into the origins of many of our current dogmatic thinking around these problems and offers up three main ideas to progress: universal income, shorter working week (in order to pursue meaningful work) and open boarders.

An interesting read for anyone looking for new ideas and hope in how to pursue a "utopian" future, to change the world in a way conducive to humanitarian flourishing.

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56 people found this helpful

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Very left wing

Would you listen to Utopia for Realists again? Why?

Fantastic book, really took me out of my political echo chamber and challenged my core beliefs, incredibly written, well read and very compelling!

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40 people found this helpful

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Why not do it?

Amazing. Why not do it? This book gives me faith that other people, and plenty of them think differently than the rubbish we’re fed by mass media. There is absolutely no reason not to pay nurses more. This book proves it, amongst a catelpugue of other reasons that it’s time to see capitalism as a platform to something better instead of it being the only way. I finished this in four days of commuting. A job I can do from home, a job that doesn’t need to be desk bound from 8:30am to 5:30pm. But is. Why? Just read it/listen to it.

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21 people found this helpful

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interesting but more radical then the title sugges

Worth a listen, good to broaden the horizons even if I don't always agree. There were a few new and interesting ideas but definitely some popular ideas like machines taking jobs which can be found elsewhere in better detail. Quite an opinionated book so I imagine if I agreed with all of the opinions I'd have liked it more!

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Best book I have ever read bar none.

Will try to make this happen within a short while. The concept is awe inspiringly brilliant and could be the solution for many of the world's problems. Buy it, read it and make it happen.

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13 people found this helpful

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Brilliant, barmy & blindingly obvious

I wish Rutger could step in and sort Brexit. And Trump. And any other number of crazy populist leaders current ruining the world.

This book is a clear call to arms for those of us looking for a way out of the madness of our times. Unfortunately the advice the author gives is so simple and truthful that it’s unlikely our Machiavellian political leaders would ever go for something so transparent and easy to apply. They’d much rather make billions from war, endless poverty and the gradual destruction of the natural world.

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preaching for a utopia I don't want to be part of.

the premise starts out well; we should all have an idea of utopia and strive to it. many great people have over history. the author gets into what idea is a utopia and different road styles to getting there.

then it goes into the big concepts;
universal basic income
15 hour work week
dissolution of national boarders.

the first two I could be persuaded into liking, but the author makes a weak argument that can be refuted, but then the last seems to be the destruction of nations and national identity. the author never seems to acknowledge other ideas or possibilities.

by the end I could barely listen any more. and no blame can be on the narrator who does a fantastic spoken rendition.

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10 people found this helpful

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The world needs more optimism

Great ideas, linking the new Left with the radical thinking of neoliberalism. Narration is immense

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A mandatory requirement

This book has the audacity to put forward pragmatic solutions that will fix many of the issues we have created in our pursuit of wealth. Of course these ideas will be ridiculed but this is more about our expectations and our beliefs rather than any limitations in the text. We should resist the mainstream dreariness and challenge ourselves to create something new

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Economically illiterate propaganda piece for the new left

Leftist populism devoid of economic understanding. One long propaganda piece. Distorted vision of intellectual and economic history too. No serious consideration given to arguments against the author’s thesis. Anyone interested in serious intellectual arguments on the subject would do much better with Ludwig von Mises’ “Liberalism in the classical tradition”.

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9 people found this helpful