Moral Ambition

The antidote to apathy from the internationally bestselling author and 2025 BBC Reith lecturer Rutger Bregman THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER __________ 'A fierce and brilliant call to arms for anyone who has been wondering whether there's more to life. (There is.) Bregman wants to change you, and he just might succeed. This is a wonderfully dangerous book' TIM HARFORD 'Gives us hope, humour and guidance at a time when all are in short supply' TIMOTHY SNYDER __________ 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? 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. What if you want to do something more with your limited time on the planet? With moral ambition – the will to make the world a wildly better place – internationally bestselling author Rutger Bregman shows us 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? Moral Ambition is a must-read for anyone wondering what they should do with their working life, how to find their purpose and how to find something more worthwhile to do with their skills and talents. As the 2025 BBC Reith Lecturer, Rutger Bregman presented ‘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

The antidote to apathy from the internationally bestselling author and 2025 BBC Reith lecturer Rutger Bregman THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER __________ 'A fierce and brilliant call to arms for anyone who has been wondering whether there's more to life. (There is.) Bregman wants to change you, and he just might succeed. This is a wonderfully dangerous book' TIM HARFORD 'Gives us hope, humour and guidance at a time when all are in short supply' TIMOTHY SNYDER __________ 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? 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. What if you want to do something more with your limited time on the planet? With moral ambition – the will to make the world a wildly better place – internationally bestselling author Rutger Bregman shows us 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? Moral Ambition is a must-read for anyone wondering what they should do with their working life, how to find their purpose and how to find something more worthwhile to do with their skills and talents. As the 2025 BBC Reith Lecturer, Rutger Bregman presented ‘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

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

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

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

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

From the author of the New York Times bestsellers Humankind and Utopia for Realists --"a more politically radical Malcolm Gladwell" ( The New York Times )--comes a bold manifesto daring us to harness our talents and transform our idealism into action, all with the goal of making the world a wildly better place. A career consists of 2,000 workweeks, and how you spend that time is one of the most important decisions of your life. Still, millions of people are stuck in in mind-numbing, pointless, or just plain harmful jobs. There's an antidote to this waste of talent, and it's called moral ambition. Moral ambition is the will to be among the best, but with different measures of success. Not a fancy title, fat salary, or corner office, but a career dedicated to the best solutions to the world's biggest problems-- whether that means tackling climate change, making pandemics history or fighting Big Tobacco. In Moral Ambition , internationally bestselling author Rutger Bregman reveals how our conventional definitions of success are harming us and the planet, and shows how we can shift the focus from personal gain to societal benefit. In the process, he explains, we will join a growing movement of pioneers who are already living out this ethos. They're the builders, the problem-solvers, the doers who have chosen a path less traveled. A guidebook to finding that path for ourselves, Moral Ambition reminds us that the real measure of success lies not in what we accumulate, but in what we contribute, and shows how we, too, can build a legacy that truly matters.

From the author of the New York Times bestsellers Humankind and Utopia for Realists --"a more politically radical Malcolm Gladwell" ( The New York Times )--comes a bold manifesto daring us to harness our talents and transform our idealism into action, all with the goal of making the world a wildly better place. A career consists of 2,000 workweeks, and how you spend that time is one of the most important decisions of your life. Still, millions of people are stuck in in mind-numbing, pointless, or just plain harmful jobs. There's an antidote to this waste of talent, and it's called moral ambition. Moral ambition is the will to be among the best, but with different measures of success. Not a fancy title, fat salary, or corner office, but a career dedicated to the best solutions to the world's biggest problems-- whether that means tackling climate change, making pandemics history or fighting Big Tobacco. In Moral Ambition , internationally bestselling author Rutger Bregman reveals how our conventional definitions of success are harming us and the planet, and shows how we can shift the focus from personal gain to societal benefit. In the process, he explains, we will join a growing movement of pioneers who are already living out this ethos. They're the builders, the problem-solvers, the doers who have chosen a path less traveled. A guidebook to finding that path for ourselves, Moral Ambition reminds us that the real measure of success lies not in what we accumulate, but in what we contribute, and shows how we, too, can build a legacy that truly matters.