Utopia for Realists

Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World by Rutger Bregman, 319 pages

Bregman starts by describing what Miedieval Europeans considered a Utopia. In most of the world, humanity has achieved that Utopia. By multiple metrics, most people in the world have good living conditions. So, how can we make things even better (especially when people may not have to work as much because of robots and AI)? Bregman's answer is a Universal Basic Income(UBI).

UBI is self-descriptive. Everyone would be guaranteed a basic income so they wouldn't have to work but if they wanted to.

To make his argument, Bregman cites several experiments with UBI. A compelling argument in favor of UBI is that it could save governments money by eliminating bureaucracy and the need for some social services. He makes some arguments that could appeal to liberals and conservatives.

Underlying Bregman's arguments is the idea that economies will continue to prosper. He isn't alone in this assumption but since populations continue to increase and the Earth has limited resources it may a bad assumption to make.

I had heard of UBI along with some of arguments in favor of it and found this in-depth analysis of the idea to be engaging. Bregman's writing style and the translation made for an easy read.