Rutger Bregman
@rutgerbregman.com
Historian | Author of ‘Utopia for Realists’ (2014), ‘Humankind’ (2020) and ‘Moral Ambition’ (2025) | Co-founder of The School for Moral Ambition | moralambition.org | rutgerbregman.com
8% of workers perceive their job as socially useless, while another 17% are doubtful about the usefulness of their job. Source: Dur and Van Lent (2019).
(And no, these are not all government bureaucrats. In fact, there are three times as many BS-jobs in the private sector as in the public sector.)
(And no, these are not all government bureaucrats. In fact, there are three times as many BS-jobs in the private sector as in the public sector.)
January 12, 2026 at 2:00 PM
8% of workers perceive their job as socially useless, while another 17% are doubtful about the usefulness of their job. Source: Dur and Van Lent (2019).
(And no, these are not all government bureaucrats. In fact, there are three times as many BS-jobs in the private sector as in the public sector.)
(And no, these are not all government bureaucrats. In fact, there are three times as many BS-jobs in the private sector as in the public sector.)
Many are laughing at how clownish this administration feels, but historians of fascism aren’t laughing, some are packing their bags.
Crackdowns on universities. Pressure on judges. Tactics straight out of Hungary and Poland, now showing up here.
Crackdowns on universities. Pressure on judges. Tactics straight out of Hungary and Poland, now showing up here.
January 9, 2026 at 12:59 PM
Many are laughing at how clownish this administration feels, but historians of fascism aren’t laughing, some are packing their bags.
Crackdowns on universities. Pressure on judges. Tactics straight out of Hungary and Poland, now showing up here.
Crackdowns on universities. Pressure on judges. Tactics straight out of Hungary and Poland, now showing up here.
Every major movement in history was built by people who didn’t fully agree with each other.
If someone’s with you 70–80% of the way, they’re not your enemy, they’re your ally.
If someone’s with you 70–80% of the way, they’re not your enemy, they’re your ally.
January 2, 2026 at 1:23 PM
Every major movement in history was built by people who didn’t fully agree with each other.
If someone’s with you 70–80% of the way, they’re not your enemy, they’re your ally.
If someone’s with you 70–80% of the way, they’re not your enemy, they’re your ally.
Forget “Follow your passion.” At the School for Moral Ambition, we say: Follow the Gandalf 🧙
Gandalf didn’t ask Frodo about his passions. He said: “Here’s a world-sized problem. You’re the one to fix it.”
So… which big, solvable, overlooked problem could you be the unlikely hero for?
Gandalf didn’t ask Frodo about his passions. He said: “Here’s a world-sized problem. You’re the one to fix it.”
So… which big, solvable, overlooked problem could you be the unlikely hero for?
December 30, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Forget “Follow your passion.” At the School for Moral Ambition, we say: Follow the Gandalf 🧙
Gandalf didn’t ask Frodo about his passions. He said: “Here’s a world-sized problem. You’re the one to fix it.”
So… which big, solvable, overlooked problem could you be the unlikely hero for?
Gandalf didn’t ask Frodo about his passions. He said: “Here’s a world-sized problem. You’re the one to fix it.”
So… which big, solvable, overlooked problem could you be the unlikely hero for?
Factory farming isn't just about animals. It’s also about farmers trapped in crushing debt and contracts they can’t escape.
We’re currently building a fellowship to take this system on and only need to raise $8,100 more to reach our fundraising goal!
Donate + learn more: moralambition.org/food
We’re currently building a fellowship to take this system on and only need to raise $8,100 more to reach our fundraising goal!
Donate + learn more: moralambition.org/food
December 24, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Factory farming isn't just about animals. It’s also about farmers trapped in crushing debt and contracts they can’t escape.
We’re currently building a fellowship to take this system on and only need to raise $8,100 more to reach our fundraising goal!
Donate + learn more: moralambition.org/food
We’re currently building a fellowship to take this system on and only need to raise $8,100 more to reach our fundraising goal!
Donate + learn more: moralambition.org/food
Imagine if serving in government was as prestigious as landing a job at Google.
In Finland and Singapore, it basically is. Public service is seen as a privilege, a place where the most ambitious people go to solve the biggest problems.
That’s the culture we should be striving for.
In Finland and Singapore, it basically is. Public service is seen as a privilege, a place where the most ambitious people go to solve the biggest problems.
That’s the culture we should be striving for.
December 23, 2025 at 1:36 PM
Imagine if serving in government was as prestigious as landing a job at Google.
In Finland and Singapore, it basically is. Public service is seen as a privilege, a place where the most ambitious people go to solve the biggest problems.
That’s the culture we should be striving for.
In Finland and Singapore, it basically is. Public service is seen as a privilege, a place where the most ambitious people go to solve the biggest problems.
That’s the culture we should be striving for.
This video will probably get fewer likes than my posts on taxing billionaires. That difference says it all. Factory farming only survives if we don’t look. It’s time to hold these companies accountable. Every donation is matched, so $1 becomes $2 through Dec 31, 2025. Donate: MoralAmbition.org/food
December 19, 2025 at 11:15 AM
This video will probably get fewer likes than my posts on taxing billionaires. That difference says it all. Factory farming only survives if we don’t look. It’s time to hold these companies accountable. Every donation is matched, so $1 becomes $2 through Dec 31, 2025. Donate: MoralAmbition.org/food
What if you could instantly DOUBLE your impact?
This Giving Tuesday, every dollar to The School for Moral Ambition’s U.S. Food System Reform Program is matched.
We’re raising $100K to launch a fellowship to help end factory farming.
Your $1 = $2. moralambition.org/food
This Giving Tuesday, every dollar to The School for Moral Ambition’s U.S. Food System Reform Program is matched.
We’re raising $100K to launch a fellowship to help end factory farming.
Your $1 = $2. moralambition.org/food
December 2, 2025 at 3:08 PM
What if you could instantly DOUBLE your impact?
This Giving Tuesday, every dollar to The School for Moral Ambition’s U.S. Food System Reform Program is matched.
We’re raising $100K to launch a fellowship to help end factory farming.
Your $1 = $2. moralambition.org/food
This Giving Tuesday, every dollar to The School for Moral Ambition’s U.S. Food System Reform Program is matched.
We’re raising $100K to launch a fellowship to help end factory farming.
Your $1 = $2. moralambition.org/food
Goodbye planet-wrecking Black Friday, hello world-healing Giving Tuesday!
We're raising funds to end factory farming: one of the most polluting industries on earth, responsible for the suffering of billions of animals.
Support us now, every donation is doubled! moralambition.org/food
We're raising funds to end factory farming: one of the most polluting industries on earth, responsible for the suffering of billions of animals.
Support us now, every donation is doubled! moralambition.org/food
December 2, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Goodbye planet-wrecking Black Friday, hello world-healing Giving Tuesday!
We're raising funds to end factory farming: one of the most polluting industries on earth, responsible for the suffering of billions of animals.
Support us now, every donation is doubled! moralambition.org/food
We're raising funds to end factory farming: one of the most polluting industries on earth, responsible for the suffering of billions of animals.
Support us now, every donation is doubled! moralambition.org/food
Wow. BBC journalists are now not even allowed to report the censored line from my Reith Lecture, that Trump is “the most openly corrupt president in American history.”
You can hear how carefully they’re forced to tiptoe around it. So chilling...
You can hear how carefully they’re forced to tiptoe around it. So chilling...
November 27, 2025 at 11:45 AM
Wow. BBC journalists are now not even allowed to report the censored line from my Reith Lecture, that Trump is “the most openly corrupt president in American history.”
You can hear how carefully they’re forced to tiptoe around it. So chilling...
You can hear how carefully they’re forced to tiptoe around it. So chilling...
What it looks like in the transcript versus what I actually said.
November 25, 2025 at 10:17 AM
What it looks like in the transcript versus what I actually said.
Happy with this blurb: "A rabid anti-Trump individual" 😎
November 16, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Happy with this blurb: "A rabid anti-Trump individual" 😎
Great to see that the White House and the Daily Mail are as excited by the upcoming publication of my BBC Reith Lectures as I am!
November 16, 2025 at 3:46 PM
Great to see that the White House and the Daily Mail are as excited by the upcoming publication of my BBC Reith Lectures as I am!
You will design and run the entire program, crafting the curriculum, curating mentors, securing internships, managing logistics, and bringing in bold speakers.
You’ll be the Gandalf of the Fellowship: wise, kind, and fiercely committed to helping students live out their ideals.
You’ll be the Gandalf of the Fellowship: wise, kind, and fiercely committed to helping students live out their ideals.
July 29, 2025 at 5:23 PM
You will design and run the entire program, crafting the curriculum, curating mentors, securing internships, managing logistics, and bringing in bold speakers.
You’ll be the Gandalf of the Fellowship: wise, kind, and fiercely committed to helping students live out their ideals.
You’ll be the Gandalf of the Fellowship: wise, kind, and fiercely committed to helping students live out their ideals.
Over the past two years, we’ve run fellowships, campaigns, and events that have helped thousands rethink what success really means.
Now, we’re bringing that mission to one of the most prestigious universities in the world: Harvard.
Now, we’re bringing that mission to one of the most prestigious universities in the world: Harvard.
July 29, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Over the past two years, we’ve run fellowships, campaigns, and events that have helped thousands rethink what success really means.
Now, we’re bringing that mission to one of the most prestigious universities in the world: Harvard.
Now, we’re bringing that mission to one of the most prestigious universities in the world: Harvard.
Take a place like Harvard. Every year, thousands of teenagers apply with essays about ending poverty or saving the planet.
Fast forward a few years… and nearly half go to McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, or Kirkland & Ellis.
Fast forward a few years… and nearly half go to McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, or Kirkland & Ellis.
July 29, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Take a place like Harvard. Every year, thousands of teenagers apply with essays about ending poverty or saving the planet.
Fast forward a few years… and nearly half go to McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, or Kirkland & Ellis.
Fast forward a few years… and nearly half go to McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, or Kirkland & Ellis.
Millions of talented people end up in careers that don’t make the world better. Some even make it worse.
July 29, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Millions of talented people end up in careers that don’t make the world better. Some even make it worse.
Millions of talented people end up in careers that don’t make the world better. Some even make it worse.
July 29, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Millions of talented people end up in careers that don’t make the world better. Some even make it worse.
Defenders of Israels war crimes often remind us that October 7 was the equivalent of twelve 9/11s, and that therefore, Israel had no other choice.
You never hear them do the math for Palestinians, who have now endured the equivalent of at least 2,500 9/11s.
You never hear them do the math for Palestinians, who have now endured the equivalent of at least 2,500 9/11s.
July 12, 2025 at 12:09 AM
Defenders of Israels war crimes often remind us that October 7 was the equivalent of twelve 9/11s, and that therefore, Israel had no other choice.
You never hear them do the math for Palestinians, who have now endured the equivalent of at least 2,500 9/11s.
You never hear them do the math for Palestinians, who have now endured the equivalent of at least 2,500 9/11s.
Let's start with the experts. Robert Paxton, the world’s foremost scholar of fascism, long resisted calling Trump a fascist. But after January 6th, he changed his mind.
“It’s the real thing. It really is,” Paxton told The New York Times in the fall of 2024.
“It’s the real thing. It really is,” Paxton told The New York Times in the fall of 2024.
June 14, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Let's start with the experts. Robert Paxton, the world’s foremost scholar of fascism, long resisted calling Trump a fascist. But after January 6th, he changed his mind.
“It’s the real thing. It really is,” Paxton told The New York Times in the fall of 2024.
“It’s the real thing. It really is,” Paxton told The New York Times in the fall of 2024.
Yes, this is fascism.
For years, historians and experts were cautious about using the f-word to describe today's events. But that hesitation is gone now. 🧵
For years, historians and experts were cautious about using the f-word to describe today's events. But that hesitation is gone now. 🧵
June 14, 2025 at 7:13 PM
Yes, this is fascism.
For years, historians and experts were cautious about using the f-word to describe today's events. But that hesitation is gone now. 🧵
For years, historians and experts were cautious about using the f-word to describe today's events. But that hesitation is gone now. 🧵
When the far right gets upset about the reach of your book campaign, you know something is going well :)
May 16, 2025 at 7:08 PM
When the far right gets upset about the reach of your book campaign, you know something is going well :)
Incredibly powerful investigation in Dutch newspaper NRC: Seven of the world’s leading genocide scholars — including renowned Holocaust experts — describe Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocidal.
And according to them, nearly all of their peers agree.
And according to them, nearly all of their peers agree.
May 15, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Incredibly powerful investigation in Dutch newspaper NRC: Seven of the world’s leading genocide scholars — including renowned Holocaust experts — describe Israel’s actions in Gaza as genocidal.
And according to them, nearly all of their peers agree.
And according to them, nearly all of their peers agree.
I’m done with the online left. And here's why.
May 10, 2025 at 3:05 PM
I’m done with the online left. And here's why.