Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash | Rutger Bregman

Not only the poor will be liberated, but also us. Today, millions of people feel that their jobs

lack

meaning and importance. A recent survey of 230,000 employees in 142 countries shows that only 13% of workers like their jobs. Another survey found that 37% of British workers believe their jobs are useless. As Brad Pitt says in the movie Fight Club: "We work jobs we hate to buy junk we don't need." here. If they stop working, we will be in trouble. But I'm talking about those highly paid experts with stellar resumes who make money conducting peer-to-peer meetings for strategic clients while thinking about adding value to disruptive innovation in the networking community. (Laughter) (Applause) Or something like that.

Imagine how much talent we waste simply because we teach our children that they have to “make a living.” Or consider what the math genius who works for Facebook lamented several years ago: “The best minds of my generation are thinking about how to do it.” get people to click on ads.” I am a historian. If history teaches us anything, it is that things can change. There is nothing inevitable about the way we have shaped our society and our economy now. Ideas can and do change the world. I think, especially in recent years, it has become increasingly clear that we cannot stick to the status quo: we need new ideas.

I know many of you may be pessimistic about a future that promises growing inequality, xenophobia and climate change. But it is not enough to know what we oppose, we must be in favor of something. Martin Luther King Jr. didn't say, "I have a nightmare." (Laughter) He had a dream. (Applause) So... this is my dream: I believe in a future where the value of your work is not determined by the size of your salary, but by the amount of happiness you spread and the amount of meaning you give. I believe in a future where the objective of education is not to prepare for other useless jobs but for a happy life.

I believe in a future where the absence of

poverty

is not a privilege but a right that we all deserve. here we are. Here we are. We have the research, the evidence and we have the means. Now, more than 500 years after Thomas More first wrote about basic income, and 100 years after George Orwell discovered the truth about

poverty

, we must change our worldview, because poverty is not a deficiency of

character

. Poverty is a material need. . Thank you. (applause)