Moral Ambition
THE INSTANT SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER – FROM THE 2025 BBC REITH LECTURER
A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE SUMMER 2025
‘Gives us hope, humour and guidance at a time when all are in short supply’ TIMOTHY SNYDER
‘The rare read that might actually help you become a better person’ ADAM GRANT
THE ANTIDOTE TO APATHY FROM THE INTERNATIONALLY BESTSELLING AUTHOR RUTGER BREGMAN
Every day we’re bombarded with methods, mantras and life hacks that promise us wellness and prosperity – while time and talent remain some of our most squandered resources. The average full-time worker will spend 80,000 hours at their job: are you making the most of them? Do you truly believe in what you do, day in, day out?
What if you want to do something more with your limited time on the planet?
Internationally bestselling author Rutger Bregman shows us that with moral ambition – the will to make the world a wildly better place – we can be both idealistic and successful, and change the world along the way. Uncovering the qualities that made the great change-makers of history so effective, he shows how we too can lend our talents to the biggest challenges of our time, from climate change to inequality to the next pandemic. With moral ambition, we can do more than be on the right side of history: we can make history itself.
This book won’t make your life easier, but it should make it more meaningful. The question is: what will you do with it?
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
Rutger Bregman, a historian and writer, is one of Europe’s most prominent young thinkers. His books Humankind and Utopia for Realists were both Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers. His work has been translated into 46 languages and has sold over two million copies. He lives in New York City.
@rcbregman | rutgerbregman.com