Really interesting argument for a new utopia. Bregman points out, quite accurately, that from the perspective of most people in history we're living in what amounts to a utopia now - that our lives are safer, richer, more pleasant, and more stable than they've ever been. But it could, he says, be better. Inspiration here has come, I think, from The Spirit Level, which argues that societies with greater equality, and with a shorter distance between the rich and the poor, do better overall. Bregman has taken this and posited some ways in which that could happen - a universal basic income, for instance, as well as getting rid of "bullshit jobs" which add no value, and advocating open borders.

I think the really impressive thing about this is how simply it's written. Economists aren't exactly known for their communication skills, but Bregman's prose is so clear, and so accessible, that normal people can understand what he's going on about. I certainly can - and, albeit that this is largely an introductory text, it seems a convincing one. A lot of what the author argues for has had pilot studies happen before, and these are well-explained and appear, in their results, to bolster his points. As I said, it's largely an introductory text, one designed to make non-economists think about economics, so I'd want to look more closely at some of those proofs before I'd be willing to sign on to these ideas myself. But if all is as Bregman presents it, the case seems to be clear... and abundantly so.