KERA's Think How to have a career that matters
Aug 25, 2025
Rutger Bregman, a historian and co-founder of The School for Moral Ambition, dives into the concept of 'moral ambition'—the pursuit of meaningful change through our careers. He challenges the prevalent feeling that jobs lack purpose and encourages listeners to focus their talents on pressing global issues. Bregman discusses historical examples of activists like Thomas Clarkson and the crucial impact of community in resisting oppression. He emphasizes that real change comes from strong coalitions and prioritizing impactful efforts over mere busywork.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Aim For Moral Maximum
- Moral ambition is the desire to make the world a wildly better place rather than doing the moral minimum.
- Rutger Bregman argues we should push for the moral maximum to address large, urgent problems.
Many Jobs Feel Socially Meaningless
- Up to 25% of modern workers judge their jobs socially meaningless, a phenomenon linked to 'BS jobs.'
- Bregman highlights the enormous waste of talent when educated people feel their work contributes no social value.
Burnout From Meaningless Work
- Burnout links strongly to working hard on things people do not care about.
- Bregman notes private-sector roles show three times more socially meaningless jobs than other sectors.
