Book review: Utopia for Realists by Rutger Bregman

We are halfway into 2022 and I have finished reading 16 books folks. I'd say that is pretty good by my standards. I have been stuck on One Hundred Years of Solitude by Colombian author Gabriel García Márquezfor the past few weeks that has arrested my reading pace. But a few more books to go and I'm sure to achieve my reading goal for this year 😊

Utopia for Realists: The Case for a Universal Basic Income, Open Borders, and a 15-hour Workweek (alternatively subtitled And How We Can Get There and How We Can Build the Ideal World) is a book by Dutch popular historian Rutger Bregman. It was originally written as articles in Dutch for a virtual journal, De Correspondent, and was since compiled and published. It went on to become an international bestseller and has been translated into 23 languages. 

This book came heavily recommended in the non-fiction category and so I had put it on my reading list. Once I was done reading it, I was so glad that I did.

Utopia for Realists offers a critical proposal that it claims is a practical approach to reconstructing modern society to promote a more productive and equitable life based on three core ideas:

• A universal and unconditional basic income paid to everybody
• A short working week of fifteen hours
• Open borders worldwide with the free movement of citizens between all states

A map of the world that does not include Utopia is not worth even glancing at, for it leaves out the one country at which Humanity is always landing. And when Humanity lands there, it looks out, and, seeing a better country, sets sail. Progress is the realization of Utopias.

Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)

Synopsis

The book starts with a brief history lesson alluding to how everything in the past was worse. It highlights the stupendous progress that humanity that has made over the last 200 years. In just a fraction of the time that our species has clocked on this planet, billions of us are suddenly rich, well nourished, clean, safe, smart, healthy and even beautiful. Compared to 1820, where 84% of the world's population still lived in extreme poverty, by 1981, that percentage dropped to 44% and now, just a few decades later, it is under 10%. In today's world, we often work long and hard hours in jobs we don't particularly like, we buy things we don't need, we constantly compete, we struggle with anxiety and obesity among other things so the real question is, even if we are wealthier, are we happier? 

This is a compelling book that provides many valid arguments, put forward in simple language addressed to the wider public, and backed by a wealth of evidence to challenge ideas that were previously deemed radical. In short, a collection of revolutionary ideas that can potentially change our world for the better.

My thoughts...

I enjoyed reading the chapters dedicated to giving away free money, universal basic income and eradicating poverty. Giving away money to the poor with no strings attached may not seem like a good idea at the outset but there is sufficient evidence that shows that doing this helps them survive crisis and escape poverty. It not only improves the living conditions of the poor but also reduces health issues such as malnutrition especially among children. These core ideas actually made me stop to rethink the ways I have tried to give back to society and the ways I could have done better. Bregman's suggestions to reduce gender and economic inequality that were backed by historical examples and data from research studies made a whole lot of sense to me. 

I also liked the author’s perspective on a shorter work week. Who wouldn't want more time to play, to dedicate to enriching hobbies, to spend with family and enjoy life? But it seems far-fetched to me that a forty hour workweek could ever go down to as little as 15 hours per week. This is something that I can only hope and daydream about becoming the utopia of my future! 

When it comes to the issue of open borders in overcoming discrimination and inequality, I’ll admit that I am a bit on the fence. As we have seen it in many countries, immigrants indeed do contribute to society and to the economy in countless ways. But even though Bregman's points sound logical, I am still  hugely skeptical of the concept as I assume it would erode social cohesion. Let's just say, that this is one of those things I will have to see in order to believe. 

Lastly, I couldn’t agree more on the author's take on “bullshit jobs” driven by modern capitalism and rampant consumerism that see many individuals filling their pockets without really adding any value to society. Three examples that immediately spring to mind are a stockbrokers, bankers and advertising agents. What these type of professions do is simply take money and shift it around. Bregman makes us rightly question why these superfluous wealth shifters take in extraordinarily large salaries compared to the real wealth creators, such as teachers, police officers, waste collectors, nurses, scientists among many others. It is high time we got rid of the dogma that a higher salary is automatically a reflection of societal value.

If we want to change the world, we need to be unrealistic, unreasonable and impossible. Remember: those who called for the abolition of slavery, for suffrage of women, and for same-sex marriage were also once branded lunatics. Until history proved them right. 

Utopia for Realists

Utopia for Realists is remarkably well-researched and eminently well-written. It would be useful if world leaders, politicians, policy makers and citizens read books like these if only to widen their imagination, deepen their thinking and participate in meaningful debates on possible courses of action to tackle problems constantly plaguing our world.

A powerful read that will definitely compel the reader to think outside the box.

My rating for this book is

Recommended.

Cheers,

Megha