This is the book club book for June 2026

While we see many crises going on around us, Rutger Bregman argues that the real big issue is that we can't think of a new way to define utopia now that the world is so good. Poverty rates are historically low, more people suffer from obesity now than from hunger. There is a lot to be thankful for.

Bregman tackles basic income, how government think they know what funds provided to those in poverty should be spent on better than the people the funds are supposed to serve, and how scarcity affects decision making.

Relieving scarcity helps people make better decisions. Giving the poor money without usage strings attached, or continual bureaucratic gymnastics to prove their worth will help the poor more than someone else deciding how the money is spent. Giving the salaries of aid workers to those receiving the aid provides greater benefit than the aid workers provide.

Like many books of this type, we have the answers, governments are unwilling to give up power. Billionaires are unwilling to distribute wealth more equally, and people are unwilling to hold those in power to account for a better world.