I can’t recall the last time I read a book in one sitting, but that’s what happened with Moral Ambition by bestselling author Rutger Bregman. I read the German edition, though it’s also available in Dutch (see James Herbert's Quick Take). An English release is slated for May.
The book opens with the statement: “The greatest waste of our times is the waste of talent.” From there, Bregman builds a compelling case for privileged individuals to leave their “bullshit jobs” and tackle the world’s most pressing challenges. He weaves together narratives spanning historical movements like abolitionism, suffrage, and civil rights through to contemporary initiatives such as Against Malaria Foundation, Charity Entrepreneurship, LEEP, and the Shrimp Welfare Project.
If you’ve been engaged with EA ideas, much of this will sound familiar, but I initially didn’t expect to enjoy the book as much as I did. However, Bregman’s skill as a storyteller and his knack for balancing theory and narrative make Moral Ambition a fascinating read. He reframes EA concepts in a more accessible way, such as replacing “counterfactuals” with the sports acronym “VORP” (Value Over Replacement Player). His use of stories and examples, paired with over 500 footnotes for details, makes the book approachable without sacrificing depth.
I had some initial reservations. The book draws heavily on examples from the EA community but rarely engages directly with the movement, mentioning EA mainly in the context of FTX. The final chapter also promotes Bregman’s own initiative, The School for Moral Ambition. However, the school’s values closely align with core EA principles. The ITN framework and pitches for major EA cause areas are in the book, albeit with varying levels of depth.
Having finished the book, I can appreciate its approach. Moral Ambition feels like a more pragmatic, less theory-heavy version of EA. The School for Moral Ambition has attracted better-known figures in Germany, such as the political e
There are some ideas like this out there - link from a brief search.
I have downvoted this post, as it is irrelevant to EA and not likely to be of use to anyone on the forum. You might want to check out the Quantified Self community for stuff like this :)
Thanks for the pointer! I think many EAs are interested in QS, but I agree it's a bit tangential.
Sorry, my comment seems too harsh. The reason I think that this wouldn't be useful is that it is a suggestion/request for someone in the EA community to pretty much make a business for physical QS devices (which also seems to probably exist). If you would have written something similar, but concluded with specific suggestions of devices and how to use them it would have been awesome.
I think that posts on QS, and self-improvement generally, would be awesome on the forum if they would give the readers ideas on how to improve themselves or their productivity or if the post writer is looking for an actionable answer for something. It might also be nice if a post would just serve as a vehicle to start a conversation around some aspect of QS. I think that this post seems to be a bit too much aimed at persuasion and doesn't generate anything actionable.