''Utopia for Realists: The Case for a Universal Basic Income, Open Borders, and a 15-hour Workweek'' (alternatively subtitled ''And How We Can Get There'' and ''How We Can Build the Ideal World'') is a book by Dutch popular historian

Rutger Bregman Rutger C. Bregman (born 26 April 1988) is a Dutch historian and author. He has published four books on history, philosophy, and economics, including '' Utopia for Realists: How We Can Build the Ideal World'', which has been translated into thirt ...

. It was originally written as articles in Dutch for a virtual journal, ''

De Correspondent ''De Correspondent'' is a Dutch news website based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It was launched on 30 September 2013 after raising more than in a crowdfunding campaign in eight days. The website distinguishes itself by rejecting the daily news ...

'', and was since compiled and published, and translated into several languages. It offers a critical proposal that it claims is a practical approach to reconstructing modern society to promote a more productive and equitable life based on three core ideas: * a universal and unconditional

basic income Universal basic income (UBI) is a social welfare proposal in which all citizens of a given population regularly receive an unconditional transfer payment, that is, without a means test or need to work. It would be received independently of a ...

paid to everybody * a short working week of fifteen hours *

open border An open border is a border that enables free movement of people (and often of goods) between jurisdictions with no restrictions on movement and is lacking substantive border control. A border may be an open border due to intentional legislation ...

s worldwide with the free movement of citizens between all states

Thesis

Rationale

As a result of the advance of

international trade International trade is the exchange of capital, goods, and services across international borders or territories because there is a need or want of goods or services. (see: World economy) In most countries, such trade represents a significant ...

and

economic science Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

in recent decades, globalization has radically transformed the traditional social and economic order from smaller, connected nations to a new

world economy The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans of the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities which are conducted both within and between nations, including production, consumption, ...

which, while already demonstrably capable of rescuing millions of people from poverty, could be extended to the entire human species. However, the new global system unfairly compensates a few rich countries, and, with the progressive substitution of

human capital Human capital is a concept used by social scientists to designate personal attributes considered useful in the production process. It encompasses employee knowledge, skills, know-how, good health, and education. Human capital has a substantial ...

with

automation Automation describes a wide range of technologies that reduce human intervention in processes, namely by predetermining decision criteria, subprocess relationships, and related actions, as well as embodying those predeterminations in machines ...

and

robotics Robotics is an interdisciplinary branch of computer science and engineering. Robotics involves design, construction, operation, and use of robots. The goal of robotics is to design machines that can help and assist humans. Robotics integrat ...

, has also generated an increase in inequality, both between the investment community and its

workforce The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the Pooling (resource management), pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single types of companies, company or ...

within the G20 states as well as between

developed countries A developed country (or industrialized country, high-income country, more economically developed country (MEDC), advanced country) is a sovereign state that has a high quality of life, developed economy and advanced technological infrastruct ...

and their developing neighbours.

Justification

Each idea is supported by multiple academic studies and anecdotal evidence including numerous success stories, quoting

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

's 1968 plan for a basic income for Americans, the

Mincome Mincome, the "Manitoba Basic Annual Income Experiment", was a Canadian guaranteed annual income (GAI) social experiment conducted in Manitoba in the 1970s. The project was funded jointly by the Manitoba provincial government and the Canadian feder ...

project in the Canadian city of

Dauphin, Manitoba Dauphin () is a city in Manitoba, Canada, with a population of 8,457 as of the 2016 Canadian Census, with an additional 2,388 living in the surrounding Rural Municipality of Dauphin (RM), for a total of 10,845 in the RM and city combined. The ci ...

, which "eliminated poverty" and reduced hospitalisation rates, and the perceived success of the

Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...

Reception

In her review for ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'',

Caroline Lucas Caroline Patricia Lucas (born 9 December 1960) is a British politician who has twice led the Green Party of England and Wales and has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Brighton Pavilion since the 2010 general election. She was re-elected ...

described the book as a "brilliantly written and unorthodox page-turner." Writing for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...

'',

Will Hutton William Nicolas Hutton (born 21 May 1950) is a British journalist. As of 2022, he writes a regular column for ''The Observer'', co-chairs the Purposeful Company, and is the president-designate of the Academy of Social Sciences. He is the chair ...

said, "You may not dream the same dreams as Bregman – but he invites you to take dreaming seriously. For that alone, this book is worth a read."

References

{{reflist 2014 non-fiction books Dutch non-fiction books Books critical of capitalism Social theories Working time International law Expedited border crossing schemes Universal basic income De Correspondent

Thesis

Rationale

Justification

Reception

See also

References