Utopia for Realists

I took this book along as a companion for my trip to the desert and the mountains; and although I ended up reading most of it on my journey back home, it was a great companion to have. It is a book that lends itself well to slow pondering and immersion whilst in a beautiful landscape. This is also short and can easily be read in an afternoon, especially given Bregman’s delightfully smooth writing style. His book tackles three topics briefly: universal basic income (UBI), a shorter 15-hour work-week, and open borders.

I found myself drawn to some ideas more than others; I’ve long been resistant to the talks of UBI, thinking its characterization as a panacea for modern ills awfully too convenient. I still think it isn’t a perfect solution, as it doesn’t always address the cause of inequality, but it may be a step in the right direction. There is still much concern over the intentions of the source of the income—especially if privatized—and the increasing numbing of the populace to political cares. (Think Brave New World, or better yet, Island.) Bregman’s book is benefited by its copious use of footnotes and citing peer-reviewed studies and articles for further reading, so any interesting moment immediately became a note to look up more things on the topic. Rarely am I ever so invested in reading economics material, which is a testament to the author. My phone is filled with a ridiculous amount of images I took to save or lookup quotes from this book; there were many anecdotes or studies that made me pause or re-read.

By the end of it, some of the content became a bit repetitive, which felt odd, since the book itself is so short; after all, such time could have been spent expanding on some of the ideas in greater detail—for example, open borders and the work-week sections both felt relatively shorter than the UBI one. Of course, the latter is a broader and more encompassing topic, but even so, I would have liked to see more in-depth analysis of the former topics. As it was, the research and evidence presented in their favor felt, at times, somewhat circular. The UBI section was fairly strong, though, and it did make me reconsider some of my biases.

This book appealed to me because of the title—purporting to be ‘for realists’, which is a label I usually find myself relating to (though not bound by). I also appreciated the fact that Bregman was always remarkably conscious of his own biases and the uphill battle he faces in advocating for these issues; moreover, he is quite friendly to an adversarial reader, and although I do find he could be slightly more convincing at points, he still does a decent job of engaging the reader. This isn’t a book that assumes you to be a dunderhead, which is honestly refreshing in these kinds of popular books. If you’re curious about the subject and have an afternoon to spare, certainly give this one a try.

Notable quotes:
※ ‘To be able to fill leisure intelligently is the last product of civilization. —Bertrand Russell’

※ ‘Around 1300, the calendar was still packed with holidays and feasts. Harvard historian and economist Juliet Schor has estimated that holidays accounted for no less than one-third of the year. […] So where has all that time gone? It’s quite simple, really. Time is money. Economic growth can yield either more leisure or more consumption. From 1850 until 1980, we got both, but since then, it is mostly consumption that has increased. Even where real incomes have stayed the same and inequality has exploded, the consumption craze has continued, but on credit.’

※ ‘When American scientists surveyed employees to find out whether they would rather have two weeks additional salary or two weeks off, twice as many people opted for the extra time.’

※ ‘What has happened in recent decades is exactly the opposite. A study conducted at Harvard found that Reagan-era tax cuts sparked a mass career switch among the country's brightest minds from teachers and engineers to bankers and accountants. Whereas in 1970 twice as many male Harvard grads were still opting for a life devoted to research over banking, twenty years later the balance had flipped, with one and a half times as many alumni employed in finance.’

※ ‘The goal of the future is full unemployment, so we can play. —Arthur C. Clarke’

※ ‘The future is already here it's just not very evenly distributed. —William Gibson’

※ ‘According to the International Monetary Fund, lifting the remaining restrictions on capital would free up at most $65 billion. […] Opening borders to labor would boost wealth by much more — one thousand times more.’

※ ‘Anyone who wants to continue plucking the fruits of progress will have to come up with a more radical solution.’