Latest news with #UtopiaforRealists
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This author wants to stop smart graduates getting sucked into finance and consulting jobs — the 'Bermuda Triangle of talent'
Rutger Bregman says top graduates going into finance and consulting are wasting their talents. He advocates for morally ambitious career paths to inspire meaningful societal change. Bregman says people can break out of the fog by starting their own "cult" of like-minded, ambitious idealists. "It's an extraordinary waste of talent." That's what Rutger Bregman has to say about smart graduates from top universities going into careers in consulting and finance. "In a rational society, you would expect that if you go to a jobs fair at these elite institutions where the best and brightest go, you would have one stand about preventing the next pandemic, a stand about curing malaria once and for all, and a stand about abolishing extreme poverty," he told Business Insider. "But instead, what we have is Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and Kirkland & Ellis. What the fuck is going on here?" Bregman, a historian from the Netherlands, is the author of "Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference." In the new book, he argues that too many people go into "socially useless" professions and thus feel their chosen careers are pointless. Many even realize this before making their decision, but don't know what else to do, he said. "Most of them are very well-meaning and deeply care about the state of the world. They want to do better, but then somehow they get sucked into this Bermuda triangle of talent." Bregman's previous books, "Humankind" in 2020 and "Utopia for Realists" published three years earlier, were both New York Times best-sellers. His works have sold more than 2 million copies. Throughout Bregman's career, he has spoken and written about how the most damaging jobs to society — big tobacco, for example — tend to be the best paid. Not all consultants and bankers necessarily fall into this category, he said, but having so many of them is a problem. "It's not all totally destructive or anything like that," he said. "But compared to what these people could do, if they would take on some of the biggest challenges, the opportunity costs are massive." Some people are "just a little bit shallow and boring" and "care deeply about owning many cars or owning a big house or having the corner office," Bregman said. "You probably can't help those people." But for many, money isn't the most important goal of choosing the consulting and finance route. A huge motivation is "preserving your optionality," Bregman said, because "many of these people are just terrified of the future." "Many of these kids are spiritually a little bit lost," Bregman said. "They don't really know what to do with their lives. McKinsey is very good at tapping into that." He said big companies offer them a continuation of what they were already doing, which is the "logical next step." "They were going from the best primary school to the best high school, and then always doing the honors classes at university, getting the best grades," Bregman said. "It's a way of postponing the real decisions, postponing actually becoming an adult, and that's very attractive if you are an insecure overachiever who has no idea what the hell to do with your life." Working in finance can also be intellectually challenging, which attracts people who like solving puzzles. Bregman said there needs to be more options in morally ambitious fields. "Many of these kids, they just want to play in the Champions League," he said, in reference to the European top-flight soccer competition. "What I think we've got to do is to create the Champions League and the Olympics for do-gooders." Some options for morally ambitious people include entering large-scale research and innovation fields and focusing on solving some of humanity's biggest problems, like hunger and the climate crisis. Bregman said it's not about following your passion, but figuring out "where your impact can be greatest." "The right path depends on the challenge you're tackling. Some problems need cutting-edge research and innovation, others demand activism, lobbying, or bold entrepreneurship," he said. "Whether you're working to end hunger, fight climate collapse, reduce factory farming, or stop tax avoidance by the superrich — what matters is that you go where you're needed most." Bregman hopes to inspire people who feel stuck to break out of going through the motions with the School for Moral Ambition, which he cofounded. "We want to help as many people as possible devote their careers in their lives to some of the most pressing issues that we face as a species," Bregman said. "When you study these moral pioneers of the past, it's not that they were good people and then started doing good things," he added. "It's the other way around, really. They started doing good things often because they were asked, and then they became good people, which is a very important difference." Bregman likens it to Gandalf knocking on Frodo's door in "The Lord of the Rings." Frodo wasn't passionate about going on a long journey and risking his life, Bregman said. But Gandalf's perspective changed him as a person. "Frodo was really passionate about gardening and having a really relaxed life full of second breakfasts," he said. "But when the old wise wizard explained everything, he was like, yeah, that's probably quite important." Bregman jokingly advises those who feel like they want to do something more to start their own "cult." "If you want to be a really ambitious idealist, it's quite hard nowadays because you're often swimming in a sea of cynicism," Bregman said. "What you need then is to surround yourself by other ambitious idealists, because then you'll be like, Hey, I'm not alone." Ambition, he said, is energy, and what really matters is "how it's used, and how it's channeled." "Find yourself some wise old wizard, a Gandalf who has a really good idea about what you should do with your life," Bregman said. "Then listen and do it." Read the original article on Business Insider Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
This author wants to stop smart graduates getting sucked into finance and consulting jobs — the 'Bermuda Triangle of talent'
Rutger Bregman says top graduates going into finance and consulting are wasting their talents. He advocates for morally ambitious career paths to inspire meaningful societal change. Bregman says people can break out of the fog by starting their own "cult" of like-minded, ambitious idealists. "It's an extraordinary waste of talent." That's what Rutger Bregman has to say about smart graduates from top universities going into careers in consulting and finance. "In a rational society, you would expect that if you go to a jobs fair at these elite institutions where the best and brightest go, you would have one stand about preventing the next pandemic, a stand about curing malaria once and for all, and a stand about abolishing extreme poverty," he told Business Insider. "But instead, what we have is Goldman Sachs, McKinsey, and Kirkland & Ellis. What the fuck is going on here?" Bregman, a historian from the Netherlands, is the author of "Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference." In the new book, he argues that too many people go into "socially useless" professions and thus feel their chosen careers are pointless. Many even realize this before making their decision, but don't know what else to do, he said. "Most of them are very well-meaning and deeply care about the state of the world. They want to do better, but then somehow they get sucked into this Bermuda triangle of talent." Bregman's previous books, "Humankind" in 2020 and "Utopia for Realists" published three years earlier, were both New York Times best-sellers. His works have sold more than 2 million copies. Throughout Bregman's career, he has spoken and written about how the most damaging jobs to society — big tobacco, for example — tend to be the best paid. Not all consultants and bankers necessarily fall into this category, he said, but having so many of them is a problem. "It's not all totally destructive or anything like that," he said. "But compared to what these people could do, if they would take on some of the biggest challenges, the opportunity costs are massive." Some people are "just a little bit shallow and boring" and "care deeply about owning many cars or owning a big house or having the corner office," Bregman said. "You probably can't help those people." But for many, money isn't the most important goal of choosing the consulting and finance route. A huge motivation is "preserving your optionality," Bregman said, because "many of these people are just terrified of the future." "Many of these kids are spiritually a little bit lost," Bregman said. "They don't really know what to do with their lives. McKinsey is very good at tapping into that." He said big companies offer them a continuation of what they were already doing, which is the "logical next step." "They were going from the best primary school to the best high school, and then always doing the honors classes at university, getting the best grades," Bregman said. "It's a way of postponing the real decisions, postponing actually becoming an adult, and that's very attractive if you are an insecure overachiever who has no idea what the hell to do with your life." Working in finance can also be intellectually challenging, which attracts people who like solving puzzles. Bregman said there needs to be more options in morally ambitious fields. "Many of these kids, they just want to play in the Champions League," he said, in reference to the European top-flight soccer competition. "What I think we've got to do is to create the Champions League and the Olympics for do-gooders." Some options for morally ambitious people include entering large-scale research and innovation fields and focusing on solving some of humanity's biggest problems, like hunger and the climate crisis. Bregman said it's not about following your passion, but figuring out "where your impact can be greatest." "The right path depends on the challenge you're tackling. Some problems need cutting-edge research and innovation, others demand activism, lobbying, or bold entrepreneurship," he said. "Whether you're working to end hunger, fight climate collapse, reduce factory farming, or stop tax avoidance by the superrich — what matters is that you go where you're needed most." Bregman hopes to inspire people who feel stuck to break out of going through the motions with the School for Moral Ambition, which he cofounded. "We want to help as many people as possible devote their careers in their lives to some of the most pressing issues that we face as a species," Bregman said. "When you study these moral pioneers of the past, it's not that they were good people and then started doing good things," he added. "It's the other way around, really. They started doing good things often because they were asked, and then they became good people, which is a very important difference." Bregman likens it to Gandalf knocking on Frodo's door in "The Lord of the Rings." Frodo wasn't passionate about going on a long journey and risking his life, Bregman said. But Gandalf's perspective changed him as a person. "Frodo was really passionate about gardening and having a really relaxed life full of second breakfasts," he said. "But when the old wise wizard explained everything, he was like, yeah, that's probably quite important." Bregman jokingly advises those who feel like they want to do something more to start their own "cult." "If you want to be a really ambitious idealist, it's quite hard nowadays because you're often swimming in a sea of cynicism," Bregman said. "What you need then is to surround yourself by other ambitious idealists, because then you'll be like, Hey, I'm not alone." Ambition, he said, is energy, and what really matters is "how it's used, and how it's channeled." "Find yourself some wise old wizard, a Gandalf who has a really good idea about what you should do with your life," Bregman said. "Then listen and do it." Read the original article on Business Insider
Telegraph
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Telegraph
This viral critic of the Davos elite is both admirable and annoying
The Dutch historian Rutger Bregman is best known as a gadfly to the global elite. He went viral online in 2019 when, speaking on stage at Davos, he criticised attendees of the World Economic Forum for avoiding tax and taking private jets to Switzerland to listen to Sir David Attenborough talk about climate change. When Tucker Carlson then invited him on Fox News, Bregman pointed out that his host was 'a millionaire funded by billionaires'. Carlson insulted him and pulled the segment. Bregman's own recording of that exchange went viral too. Bregman's first book was Utopia for Realists (2017), which argued in favour of universal basic income and a 15-hour workweek, and was buoyed by a popular TED talk on poverty. Humankind: A Hopeful History, a feelgood book out in 2020 – when readers were desperate to feel good – argued that human beings are, at heart, A-OK. Moral Ambition: Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making a Difference, translated from Dutch by Erica Moore, offers something of a corrective to that optimism, or at least the brand of optimism that's laced with complacency. Bregman told Big Think magazine last year that he saw 'influencers reading Humankind [who] started posting: 'My faith in humanity is completely restored. I'm going to work less and just enjoy my life.'' It alarmed him: 'I felt I had created a monster.' The cold water he douses on readers of Moral Ambition, as its subtitle implies, is an injunction: don't just stand there, do something. Bregman faults his fellow progressives for armchair activism, citing the ineffectiveness of contemporary protest movements such as Occupy compared to the coordinated efforts, say, of the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955. He also urges activists to set aside differences if they want to reach bigger goals. Coalition-building requires compromise; otherwise, he warns, 'you end up with a movement that's 100 per cent pure, but zero per cent effective.' Bregman urges educated professionals to move away from what the anthropologist David Graeber dubbed 'bulls--t jobs', in fields such as consultancy, and instead to pursue socially meaningful work. 'Of all things wasted in our throwaway times,' Bregman writes, 'the greatest is wasted talent.' He highlights the paths of altruists such as the abolitionist Thomas Clarkson, the civil-rights activist Rosa Parks, and Rob Mather, founder of a malaria-fighting charity. Some of the case studies are instructive at the everyday scale: people, we learn, are more likely to help when they're directly asked. Bregman's ambitions are admirable. If even a small percentage of those who pick up this book are spurred to action, whether that's a charity run or a complete change in career, it's hard to disagree that it will have been worth his effort. (The idea resonated personally: I left what he would consider a bulls--t job in investment banking to write a book about the future of seduction that I hoped readers would find helpful.) The delivery of the message, however, is irksome. Bregman, the son of a pastor, is too susceptible to sermonising, and like most pop philosophy-history-psychology writers in the Malcolm Gladwell mould, he's prone to hyperbole and gross oversimplification. Twenty-five years after Gladwell's The Tipping Point, the Big Ideas genre continues to sell healthily – especially to a type the writer Gavin Jacobson has dubbed 'Waterstones Dad' – but its formula of anecdotes and simplistic diagrams isn't ageing well. Bregman opens his book by making the curious choice to upbraid a Buddhist monk, Matthieu Ricard, whose brain activity in an MRI scan saw him branded 'the happiest man in the world'. Bregman's beef with Ricard, formerly a molecular geneticist who researched colonic bacteria, is that he had ditched the Institut Pasteur in Paris for a monastic life in Tibet, thereby depriving the world of his potential contribution to science. (He somewhat redeems himself in Bregman's eyes by later setting up a nonprofit.) Yet Ricard is also a bestselling author, having written books on altruism, happiness, meditation and animal rights, and translated numerous Buddhist texts. When you consider that Bregman is telling us all this in a book of his own, and the ripple effects of books are not quantifiable anyway, you wonder: who's to say whether Bregman or Ricard has the greater moral ambition?
