The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens Moral Ambition: Redefining Success for the Global Good with Rutger Bregman
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Oct 1, 2025 
Rutger Bregman, a Dutch historian and author renowned for his works like Humankind, joins the discussion. He argues for redefining success to prioritize collective well-being over personal gain. Bregman introduces the concept of moral ambition, blending activism with entrepreneurship, and outlines seven principles to foster altruism. He critiques GDP as a measure of success and emphasizes the importance of perseverance in social movements. By urging a shift in cultural norms, he envisions a future where moral actions take precedence, inspiring a new generation to tackle global challenges.
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Moral Ambition Defined
- Moral ambition combines activist idealism with entrepreneurial scale and execution.
- Big problems need big, scalable solutions and the desire to actually get things done.
Abolitionists Were Entrepreneurs
- The British abolitionist movement started with 12 founders, 10 of whom were entrepreneurs.
- They began with maybe 50–100 abolitionists and scaled the movement to hundreds of thousands.
Success Is A Cultural Construct
- Our cultural definition of success has shifted from meaning to money over decades.
- Status is malleable and elite cultural shifts can redefine what society prizes as success.
