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Moral Ambition

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Moral Ambition

Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference

Little, Brown US,

15 Minuten Lesezeit
8 Take-aways
Audio & Text

Was ist drin?

Become inspired to make the world a better place and find the ambition to make real change.

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Editorial Rating

7

getAbstract Rating

  • Overview
  • For Beginners
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Every day, millions of capable people devote their time and effort to work that, arguably, adds little value to the world. In this intriguing text, historian Rutger Bregman offers an alternative to this status quo: “moral ambition,” a system for redirecting your personal drive toward solving humanity’s greatest problems, from climate change to global inequality. Bregman challenges narrow definitions of success and offers lessons from history illustrating how people can re-channel their talent and privilege to serve the greater good.

Summary

“Moral ambition” is the drive to invest your time and abilities in the service of something more significant than yourself.

Moral ambition begins with the awareness that your life is finite, and the approximately 80,000 hours you’ll spend on work are a moral choice. People with moral ambition redefine success as doing meaningful work. They value making the world a better place more than accumulating wealth or pursuing other commonly accepted markers of success.

Many people waste their talents on non-idealistic jobs that might look impressive on paper but contribute little value to the world. As one Facebook employee put it, many of the brightest individuals alive today are busy “thinking about how to make people click ads.” Others pursue idealistic roles, but do so in such a non-ambitious manner that they end up having no impact. Escaping this trap and rechanneling your energy into work that actually moves society forward requires courage. It’s not a comfortable or passive path. Choosing purpose over prestige and committing your one life to doing something that matters is hard work.

Take small steps toward doing the right thing now.

In 1936, a German ...

About the Author

Rutger Bregman is a Dutch historian, author, and co-founder of The School for Moral Ambition. His books Humankind and Utopia for Realists were both Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers, and his work has been translated into 46 languages.

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