Bregman makes a strong argument for the need for a healthy streak of utopianism in today’s technocratic politics where the supremacy of the market is taken as unassailable. Poppycock, Bregman says, or would if he wasn’t a young hip Dutch internet-savvy chap. He accepts some ideas, like a borderless world, high taxation on the rich and a universal basic income for all, with no questions asked, seem pie-in-the-sky utopianism. But then, so did the abolition of slavery, the vote for women and gay marriage. Just because it’s utopian doesn’t mean it’s not worth pushing for. He’s written a readable treatise loaded with good quotes, like this one:
When Henry Ford’s grandson gave labor union leader Walter Reuther a tour of the company’s new, automated factory, he jokingly asked, “Walter, how are you going to get those robots to pay your union dues?” Without missing a beat, Reuther answered, “Henry, how are you going to get them to buy your cars?”
Thoughtful and inspiring.
No. 8 of 24 books I intend to read and review in 2026.
I’m Patrick Sherriff, an Englishman who survived 13 years working for newspapers in the US, UK and Japan. Between teaching English lessons at my conversation school in Abiko, Japan, I write and illustrate textbooks for non-native speakers of English, release Hana Walker mystery novels, short stories, paint, and write essays and Our Man in Abiko, a monthly newsletter highlighting good writing in English, often about about Japan, art, crime fiction and teaching.
