Utopia for Realists

**THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER – FROM THE 2025 BBC REITH LECTURER

‘Listen out for Rutger Bregman. He has a big future shaping the future’ Observer**

‘A more politically radical Malcolm Gladwell’ New York Times

‘The Dutch wunderkind of new ideas’ Guardian

In Utopia for Realists, Rutger Bregman shows that we can construct a society with visionary ideas that are, in fact, wholly implementable. Every milestone of civilisation – 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 fifteen-hour work week can become reality in our lifetime.

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.

As the 2025 BBC Reith Lecturer, Rutger Bregman will present ‘Moral Revolution’, a four part series:
-A Time of Monsters
-How To Start a Moral Revolution
-A Realist’s Utopia
-Zoom Out
Available to listen on BBC Four