Rethinking What’s Possible
Rutger Bregman’s Utopia for Realists is an invitation to widen our imagination about what society could look like. In a world where much public discourse feels constrained by what is “practical” or “affordable,” Bregman insists that daring to imagine radically better futures is not only useful but necessary. Without utopian thinking, he argues, we stagnate in systems that no longer serve us.
The book is both provocative and pragmatic, offering not just critique but tangible proposals that could reshape the way we live and work together.
Big Ideas, Bold Proposals
Bregman focuses on three big ideas:
- Universal Basic Income (UBI) – a direct payment to all citizens, no strings attached. He traces its history from the early modern period to contemporary pilot projects, showing how UBI could end poverty, reduce inequality, and free people to pursue meaningful work.
- The 15-Hour Work Week – drawing inspiration from Keynes’s 1930 prediction that productivity gains would allow future generations to work far less, Bregman critiques our obsession with busyness. He suggests that a reduction in working hours could improve well-being, reduce stress, and open up time for creativity, relationships, and civic engagement.
- Open Borders – perhaps the most controversial idea, Bregman contends that lifting barriers to migration would boost the global economy and reduce inequality. He points to research showing that people, not just goods and capital, moving freely can be transformative.
Beyond the Dominant Paradigm
The thread that ties these proposals together is Bregman’s conviction that the current paradigm – in which long hours, rigid borders, and entrenched inequality are considered normal – is not inevitable. These are choices we have made as societies. Just as slavery, monarchy, and women’s disenfranchisement once seemed like fixed realities, so too can today’s systems be reimagined.
In this way, Utopia for Realists resonates with my Beyond the Dominant Paradigm series, which explores works that unsettle the assumptions of our time.
Hopeful but Grounded
What makes Bregman’s book persuasive is its balance of idealism with realism. He draws on historical examples where ideas once considered radical – universal suffrage, the welfare state, the abolition of slavery – became accepted parts of life. His point is simple but profound: what is utopian today may be tomorrow’s common sense.
At the same time, Bregman avoids presenting a fixed blueprint. Instead, he offers provocations, signposts, and invitations to debate. Rather than saying “this is the way,” he is saying “here are directions we might take if we are bold enough to imagine them.”
A Needed Conversation
For readers weary of small reforms that tinker at the edges, Utopia for Realists offers both refreshment and challenge. You may not agree with all of Bregman’s proposals — indeed, he intends them to be debated – but his work reminds us that our capacity to imagine shapes our collective future. If we cannot picture alternatives, we will simply reinforce the status quo.
Why It Matters
The deeper message of Utopia for Realists is that cultural imagination is not a luxury – it is a necessity. By daring to picture different futures, we create the possibility of new realities. In a time of climate crisis, social fracture, and economic uncertainty, this call to expand our imagination feels not just inspiring but urgent.
If this review has sparked your imagination, I invite you to explore more books in my Cultural Shift & Collective Purpose theme