The best short explainer I’ve seen on Moral Ambition (and why it matters for EA)

I just watched How to live a life that actually matters by The Market Exit and thought it was awesome. This 20-minute video is based on an interview with Dutch historian and author, Rutger Bregman (Utopia for Realists, Humankind), and produced by Stockholm-based YouTuber, Andres Acevedo.

In a really short amount of time, it does a brilliant job of introducing moral ambition - why our choices matter so much in this historic moment, why career paths are among the biggest levers we have ("2,000 work weeks!" - or 80,000 hours, depending on whether you're more MA or EA leaning), and how combining ambition with idealism is crucial for real-world impact.

Along the way it references David Graeber's infamous "bullshit jobs", busts common myths about doing good (e.g. awareness and intentions aren’t enough; purity can be counterproductive, etc) and argues how normal people really can do extraordinary things -  all in an accessible, engaging and inspiring way.

Rutger Bregman himself has called it his "favorite piece of media" around the launch of his book and The School for Moral Ambition, which is pretty high praise given how much media attention he's received lately.

And even though it doesn’t reference EA directly (and includes Bregman's “SSS model,” which is basically a rebrand of the ITN framework), I think it’s one of the best short resources out there for explaining how we approach doing good and why we prioritize causes the way we do.

In a nutshell: I think this video could become a go-to explainer: a quick, engaging way to help newcomers, or even your friends and family, finally “get” what moral ambition - and therefore, to a large extent, EA - is all about. I hope you find it useful!