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Bloomsbury

Utopia For Realists

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Format: Hardcover, Import


Description

We live in a time of unprecedented upheaval, with 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. Rutger Bregman, a bestselling Dutch historian, explains that it needn't be this way. Bregman shows that we can construct a society with visionary ideas that are, in fact, wholly implementable. Every milestone of civilization – from the end of slavery to the beginning of democracy – was once considered a utopian fantasy. New utopian ideas such as universal basic income and a 15-hour work week can become reality in our lifetime. This guide to a revolutionary yet achievable utopia is supported by multiple studies, lively anecdotes and numerous success stories. From a Canadian city that once completely eradicated poverty, to Richard Nixon's near implementation of a basic income for millions of Americans, Bregman takes us on a journey through history, beyond the traditional left-right divides, as he introduces ideas whose time has come. Read more

Publisher ‏ : ‎ GARDNERS VI BOOKS AMS006


Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 5, 2017


Edition ‏ : ‎ First Edition


Language ‏ : ‎ English


Print length ‏ : ‎ 316 pages


ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1408890267


ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 64


Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1.42 pounds


Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 7.99 x 10 x 1.85 inches


Best Sellers Rank: #3,111,924 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #690 in Poverty #995 in Sociology of Social Theory #1,149 in Taxation (Books)


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Great book!
Looking for thought-provoking and enjoyable book? Order this one.
Reviewed in the United States on September 15, 2023 by Daniel Byrne
    • Courageous, and original
Two of the three utopian ideas in Rutger Bregman's book make a lot of sense: universal, unconditional basic income - free money for everyone - and open borders the world over. The third idea, the 15-hour workweek, I think may be a little bit premature for our era. There's a hell of a lot of work to do, to clean up the mess capitalism has created on the planet (just stopping the flow of, and cleaning up the plastics in the oceans is a hugely enormous task!); to provide good housing to people living in slums in cities; to resettle animals caged in factory farms on holistically managed pastures and forested lands; to dig swales, ponds, reservoirs around the globe to manage water (especially important as the climate changes), to convert monoculture-based agricultural land to permaculture, it's a long list...... There's the internet where pornography, and social media surveillance (due to the obsession with generating advertising revenues, on the part of the owners) could do with a reset, a huge shakeup. In the utopian world of tomorrow, borders for humans should go, but so should fences which keep animals from moving naturally. The whole relationship to animals is due for a huge reset. Bregman is certainly very courageous in his imagination of the world of the future, but somehow he assumes a static society, sexually, spiritually, even materially. Three stars therefore, okay four! Personally, I think Osho was right in pointing to the nuclear family and sexual repression as the major factors in causing humankind to become so sick: people tend to be selfish, greedy, addicted, unaware, destructive, violent, short-sighted, and completely obsessed with sex. Totally wasteful materially, totally wasted spiritually. In our era so many of the nuclear families give way to single-parent and single-person households, with resultant epidemies of poverty and depression. In my utopian vision communes would flourish, in urban as well as rural settings. PS. I am well aware, and appreciative, of Rutger Bregman's more recent work "Humankind: A Hopeful History". There too, unfortunately, too little consideration is given to sexual and spiritual areas of human existence. It's a continuum of one energy..... Then there's the post-materialist revolution, and the work of Gary Schwarz and company (Soulphone), but that's yet another aspect of the utopian visions unfolding around the world... ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 2, 2020 by Azeem Amarshi
    • Whoa Nellie!!!
What I liked most about this book is that it was a breezy read that appeared to effortlessly pound the reader with some pretty challenging concepts, but in the end I enjoyed it anyway. I took away the some pretty good ideas about how social change occurs and the role of Utopian thought in that change. In this respect it is the perfect balm for these treacherous times when things look rather dark and hopeless. I know we will all emerge on the other side but I often fear we will not be better for wear. This book inspires us how to prepare for the worst yet to come, and hopefully emerge on the other side knowing that a better world is possible! ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on March 7, 2019 by Michael S. Balliro
    • Thought provoking options for the future
One of the most remarkable things I learnt reading this book was that the United States was very close to introducing a universal basic income. The world would be a different place today if this had been introduced as many other countries would have followed. One of the challenges for us is that there will be less work available as our economies transform and we need to find new ways to deal with this and ensure that the bulk of the population have a decent income. Utopia for Realists outlines some interesting and hopeful opportunities for us that is a refreshing change from the dystopian view of the future. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2019 by Husky123
    • Social Capitalism -- The Best of Both Systems
Bregman presents the case for a universal minimum income, paid for by taxes on the wealthy, as a way of mitigating the adverse consequences of wealth inequality that result from the excesses of capitalism. This is one of the examples given by the author to show that capitalism and socialism are not mutually exclusive -- that the two systems, rather than fighting one another, can be combined to produce a better society. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on May 7, 2019 by Herb Townsend
    • Maybe one of the most important books I've ever read
So grateful to have found this eye openrr and mind turner of a book. Tears down prejudice and stale ideas about whars possible and not, and opens for real jope of a better, world for all. And even if that is and should be a moral question as well, it is here proven as mainly reasonable. A must read.
Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2021 by Håkon Grimstad
    • Superb, eye-opening read
Revolutionary, honest thinking combined with thorough research, presented through well-structured writing. Rutger shows how we don’t need miracles to change our world. The solutions are already within us. Among us. Highly recommend for anyone interested in economics, particularly heterodox economics, sustainable development, and in general, anyone dreaming of a new utopia. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on January 17, 2021 by Chayanika
    • Interesting perspective....
Interesting. Reading it with "a grain of salt", meaning yes, giving actual money a.k.a. CASH may help some but 2 words are together: "may" and "some". One example he gives is the casino in NC that's opened and how the proceeds of cash lift the Indian community to new heights. That's excellent, but the other side that he doesn't mention is the "winnings" for the Indian Community is based on the gambling LOSSES of others. How many people gambled away their family fortune, life savings or are now in Gambling Anonymous. As he states in the book Utopia means "good place" as well as "no place". Someone once said socialism works until the other guy runs out of money. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on August 7, 2017 by Doug Higgins

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