Rutger Bregman (1988) is a Dutch historian, best selling author and co-founder of The School for Moral Ambition.

His books Humankind (2020) and Utopia for Realists (2017) were both Sunday Times and New York Times best sellers. His work has been translated into 46 languages and has sold over 2.5 million copies worldwide.

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Moral Ambition

stop wasting your talent and start making a difference

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Moral ambition is the will to make the world a wildly better place. To stand on the right side of history, and devote your career to the greatest challenges of our time.

‘The Dutch wunderkind of new ideas’

The Guardian

‘The folk hero of Davos’

Vox

‘One of Europe’s most prominent young thinkers’

TED

The New York Times best seller
500,000+ copies sold
Translated in 36 languages
The New York Times best seller
1.5 million+ copies sold
Translated in 46 languages
The Sunday Times best seller
500,000+ copies sold
Translated in 32 languages
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'Moral Ambition is a call to action for humanity.'

Trevor Noah

'What an inspiring book!'

Stephen Fry

'Gives us hope, humor and guidance at a time when all are in short supply'

Timothy Snyder

Put your ideals to WORK

Imagine an alliance of ambitious idealists who think awareness is not enough. An organization that  empowers small groups of pioneers to make a historic difference. Imagine a movement of builders, who take on the biggest and most neglected challenges of our time, and who will persevere until they’ve accomplished their goals. And we’ll call it: The School for Moral Ambition.
Join our movement

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