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Alana Horowitz Friedman

Ten provocative quotes from Rutger Bregman's Moral Ambition — and what they mean for effective giving.

10 of the best quotes from Rutger Bregman’s Moral Ambition

My favourite thing about Bregman’s new book 

 is its boldness. These days, we tend to tiptoe around morality — softening our convictions, reassuring others we don’t expect them to follow suit, doing whatever it takes to avoid sounding judgmental…or worse, being judged.

But Bregman turns that on its head. His book is packed with zingers that say to humanity: “What are you doing? Wake up! Act! Do it now!” He opens with a chapter titled “No, you’re not fine just the way you are”, and calls out the “Noble Loser” — someone who’s morally righteous but ultimately ineffective.

And yet, I never felt like he’d gone too far. If anything, his willingness to risk offence or seem extreme was refreshing — the kind of provocation we, as a society, badly need. No, you won’t agree with everything he says. But his zingers still cut really deep, precisely because they don’t shy away from making big, bold claims.

 quotes, roughly grouped into a few themes that stood out to me. Even if you haven’t read the book, these quotes stand on their own as powerful challenges to how we think about making a difference.

1. “We hold all kinds of viewpoints on all kinds of matters, but we generally do little with our viewpoints.” 

2. “It’s not what you think is right that counts, but what you’re prepared to do about it.”

3. “There are two forms of ‘knowing.’ You can know something and then do something about it. Or you can know something and look away, afraid to face the consequences of what you know to be true.” 

4. “You can’t be afraid to come across as weird if you want to make a difference. Every milestone of civilization was first seen as the crazy idea of some subculture or another, from the Pythagorean theorem to the conviction that slavery is depraved.” 

5. “The fear of being different runs deep in human nature. We may tell earnest tales of our personal convictions, but what we actually 

 is mostly a matter of mimicry. The longing to belong is like a magnet, interfering with our inner compass.” 

use in this fight [to change the world] is the fool who thinks good intentions are enough. Someone whose clear-eyed convictions put them squarely on the right side of history, but who achieves little in the here and now. Let’s call this figure the Noble Loser” - 

7. “Many people are more preoccupied with the kind of work they do than with the impact that work has. As long as it feels good.” 

8. “The trouble with idealists who lack ambition is they tend to prize awareness more than action. Words and intentions take precedence over deeds and consequences, and what something’s 

9. “In some circles, you’d think the highest good is not to have any impact at all. A good life is then primarily defined by what you 

 do. Don’t fly. Don’t eat meat. Don’t have kids…the aim is to have the smallest footprint possible, with your little vegetable garden and your tiny house. Best-case scenario? Your impact on the planet is so negligible, you could just as well not have existed. Don’t get me wrong – it’s a fine idea to align even your smallest deeds with your biggest values. But surely a good life consists of more than what you 

do? One would hope that on your deathbed, you can chalk up your life’s work to more than simply all the harm you didn’t cause?” 

10. “There are libraries full of books about the question of what distinguishes the doers from the non-doers, the builders from the non-builders, and the heroes from the rest. But what if moral ambition isn’t a personal quality or attribute, but rather a frame of mind? And what if that mindset is contagious– something everyone can catch?” - 

If you’ve caught – or want to catch – the “moral ambition” bug, Bregman offers no shortage of inspiring stories showing that everyday people can step up and be the heroes the world needs right now. He offers you the chance to do it too – through his 

, where you can commit to “stop wasting your talent and start making a difference.” I’m super excited to see what comes out of it.

In the meantime, I can’t help but editorialize on a few of his core themes – working at Giving What We Can, I naturally viewed them through the lens of effective giving, a topic he discusses in the book as well.

For those who haven’t heard of it, effective giving is an approach to charity where you focus on impact over feelings. Instead of donating to the causes you happen to hear about in the news, you stop and ask: what are the problems in the world where I can make the biggest difference? And which charities are implementing exceptional programs in these areas?

This requires consulting the research and recommendations of charity evaluators who focus on assessing – not just overhead spending, financial metrics, or CEO pay – but what the program actually achieves for its cost (its true impact).

Effective giving is in many ways aligned with all of the themes I picked out above:

It’s first and foremost about taking action, quite literally putting our money where our mouth is.

 Think it’s bad that 1 in 10 people are living in extreme poverty? How about 

It requires being different, and sometimes being thought of as weird. 

Saying some charities are “better” than others can sound cold or impersonal rather than warm and kind – the latter being what we want to feel when we donate. But it’s true kindness that lies at the heart of giving 

 – making sure we’re helping in the best ways we can, rather than giving just for warm fuzzies. To use another of Bregman’s zingers, “it’s not about looking good; it’s about doing good.” 

It prioritises results, rather than “virtue” alone. 

Effective giving arose from a belief that good intentions aren’t enough. Some charities have the best of missions but fail to actually help people, and it’s not always clear – based solely on intuition – which ones those are; we have to follow the research to find truly exceptional programs.

 When charity is a black box, it’s easier to hedge your bets and donate less. When you can be confident your actions are truly helping others — you realise you have a lot more power than you think.

On that last point – there’s one framing I disagree with Bregman on. While he views humanity’s inaction as a lack of moral 

, I might characterise it slightly differently: as a lack of moral 

 morally ambitious in that they have a strong desire or determination to help others. But this ambition gets swallowed because it doesn’t seem achievable – the world’s problems are overwhelming and overwhelm usually doesn't lead to taking action, even in ambitious individuals. So perhaps it’s not ambition we lack, but clear, meaningful ways to act on it.

This is actually part of the reason behind the 

 we promote on our website – a public commitment to donate at least 10% of income to the charities you believe can best use it to improve the lives of others. Such a Pledge offers a clear path to 

, and it’s remarkably achievable – you don’t have to turn your life upside down, get a brand new career, or (depending on your specific financial circumstances) drastically shift your lifestyle to do it. If you’d take a more meaningful job for a 10% pay cut – you can be confident you can afford the Pledge.

Curious about the power of charity? It’s one of the most underrated ways to make a huge difference. 

Rutger Bregman on charity

Of course, this isn’t to say your moral ambition should necessarily stop there – I think Bregman's book made some fantastic points about leveraging your talents to solve the world’s problems, and I hope he gets a lot of students at the School for Moral Ambition (tuition completely free, by the way, so go ahead and apply!) But – taking a leaf from Bregman’s boldness – especially at this critical juncture in history, I think you should start exercising your moral ambition right now.

In Chapter 2, Bregman identifies a key trigger for taking action, based on psychological research on what separated resistance heroes during World War II from bystanders. Contrary to what you might think, there were very few distinguishing psychological features. Only one circumstance stuck out: 

 96% of those who were asked to take action did.

Will you join the small but growing (almost 10,000) individuals who have pledged to leverage a portion of their income to make the world a better place? Will you help pave the way for the millions who are scared to be different, and who will only act if this type of more significant giving becomes normal? Take the first step to exercising the moral ambition you know you have. Align your actions with your values, help set a cultural norm, and – rather than “knowing” but looking away – stare down the world’s problems and do something about them.

Grace Adams

Watch Rutger Bregman discuss “moral ambition” on The Daily Show and explore how his ideas connect with effective giving, meaningful work, and the 10% Pledge.

May news: Inspiration from Rutger Bregman on The Daily Show

This month, I wanted to share a fantastic segment from 

 featuring 10% Pledger — and bestselling author and historian — 

Rutger Bregman - “Moral Ambition” | The Daily Show

Rutger has a way of sparking real self-reflection, both individually and societally. In this segment, he talks about why he wrote his new book, 

, a new program designed to help people use their time and resources to work on solving the world’s biggest problems.

He defines “moral ambition” like this:

"It’s the idealism of an activist on the one hand, and the ambition of an entrepreneur. It’s the desire to stand on the right side of history before it is fashionable, and to really devote your career, your precious time on this earth, to make this world a much better place.” - Rutger Bregman on The Daily Show

Rutger shares that around 25% of people in the modern workforce think that their own job is socially meaningless. He wants to change that with his book, the proceeds of which will be poured into 

 to help interested people translate their idealism into real, ambitious action.

Personally, I found the book to be a fantastic read, and I plan to gift it to many people in my life.

We’re also thrilled that The School for Moral Ambition shares our commitment to effective giving as one of the many morally ambitious paths people can take. In fact, it even invites people to take the 

🎥 If you haven’t yet seen Rutger’s thoughts on the Pledge, I’d encourage you to check out this short clip:

How the 10% Pledge changed Rutger Bregman's life

Here are some of our favourite responses from people who took a pledge last m

What motivated you to take a pledge with Giving What We Can?

 blogs, announcements, & news from Giving What We Can

” video picking up over 100k organic views on Instagram!

We published a blog post aimed at reaching new audiences with the ideas of effective giving: 

How to stop buying things you don’t need

Our pledge booth at the EAGx Utrecht conference resulted in a 40% increase in the number of attendees who had an active giving pledge, with a total of 33 people deciding to take a pledge at the conference! (11 new 10% Pledges and 22 new Trial pledges!)

” option where people who are considering pledging can connect with a vetted pledger to ask questions, talk through concerns, or just get to know each other! Choose from a directory or opt to be matched based on your interests and background.

Highlights from our community & the wider effective giving ecosystem

An Australian family who has chosen to give away 25% of their income published some inspiring blogs about why and how they give so much:

10% Pledger Holly Elmore co-authored a call to action for Americans on AI risk, since the newest budget reconciliation bill includes a 10-year ban on states passing AI regulation. The post urges Americans concerned about AI risk to 

call their Senators and ask them to oppose the provision

 is hiring a dynamic Country Director to grow AMF Korea into a leading force in domestic philanthropy. 

 by May 31st. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis.

hiring a Chief of Staff to support the Program Director

. This person will work with the Program Director across various projects, drive critical initiatives, and enhance operational excellence. The application deadline is June 1st!

Program Associates and Senior Program Associates

to support its work by researching grant opportunities, supporting new initiatives, and building relationships in the field. Apply by June 8 for full consideration.

Highlights from the high-impact programs we list on our platform along with evaluators & grantmakers in the effective giving space 

 to end its use of fast-growing chicken breeds, which face severe health & welfare issues. On May 17th, Chris Packham joined THL UK protestors at the Co-op Annual General Meeting, where the motion they submitted to end the use of Frankenchickens 

passed with 90% of members voting in favour

. However, the Co-op ignored a similar motion passed two years ago, raising concerns about whether it will listen to the wishes of its members.

THL UK released a fabulous video covering the protest. Watch it here: 

Can Chris Packham get the Co-op board to listen?

2024 State of Alternative Proteins series

 is live! The series features cutting-edge insights across science, policy, and industry—including new reports, market data, and global snapshots to inform and empower the alt protein movement.

GFI Europe joined the UK House of Commons launch of 

, a new policy pathway co-authored with Green Alliance and the Food Foundation. The roadmap offers practical steps for the UK government to boost uptake of plant-rich diets.

, which includes info about its 2024 grant recipients, the research it published, a case study in cost-effectiveness, and much more!

 capturing a day of immunisations at a clinic in Kebbi, Nigeria. The blog highlights the triumphs and challenges faced by clinic staff and caregivers alike.

A post about how severe flooding can make it difficult to distribute preventative medication to protect children from malaria, and Malaria Consortium’s response to this challenge. Read: 

Reaching the hardest to reach: Maintaining seasonal malaria chemoprevention in flood-affected areas

A summary of key learnings from the SMC Alliance Annual Meeting, in light of the newly-released 

Advancing seasonal malaria chemoprevention: Key learnings from the SMC Alliance Annual Meeting

, arguing for the benefits of cash transfers on maternal & child health. You can also read the op-ed on 

The newest budget reconciliation bill on its way to the US Senate includes a 10-year ban on states passing AI regulation. Holly Elmore and Felix De Simone published a forum post urging Americans to 

 convened (with Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations) a forum for life science research funders to discuss and share perspectives on how best to integrate safety and security considerations into life science research funding decisions. The forum aims to “equip funders with tools, strategies, and resources to foster responsible innovation while protecting public health and security.” 

is considering funding programs that increase access to modern contraception in low- and middle-income countries and published a page outlining its current approach to 

evaluating the cost-effectiveness of contraception

recently released two new episodes in its ongoing 

: GiveWell CEO and co-founder Elie Hassenfeld speak with Program Officer Dan Brown about recent grants to create technical support units in six African countries that are navigating substantial funding gaps due to cuts in US government aid.

: Elie is joined by Director of Research Teryn Mattox to discuss the current challenges of making grants while long-term funding is uncertain.

 to the podcast for the latest updates, or 

 from the podcast episodes on the GiveWell blog.

, which shares: “In 2024, Giving Green’s research and recommendations influenced $17.0 million to high-impact climate nonprofits — our strongest year yet.”

Announced $880K in strategic response grants

 — a proactive effort to meet urgent climate needs under a rapidly shifting U.S. political landscape.

 is seeking people with technical and entrepreneurial backgrounds who want to launch a high growth, impactful company for the next cohort of the 

 program. Learn more about the program and apply 

Launched a substack focused on delivering strategic insights on animal welfare in an accessible format! Check out the 

 of the EU political landscape and its implications for advancing farmed animal welfare policy.

An uplifting story we didn't want you to miss: 

Bill Gates has announced he's giving away "virtually all" of his wealth over the next twenty years. He's also calling on other wealthy individuals to follow suit:

"I hope other wealthy people consider how much they can accelerate progress for the world’s poorest if they increased the pace and scale of their giving, because it is such a profoundly impactful way to give back to society."

Of course, at Giving What We Can, we don't think it has to be ONLY the wealthy who can impact lives. But we're very happy to see Gates calling out how much can be done through the power of giving. Read his post 

 about how New Incentives' mobile teams are helping reach children who might not otherwise be able to get vaccinated. Check out the post to see more about what their work is like on the ground!

 and stay connected with us for more news and updates.

If you’ve got questions about what it’s like to give more, and how a pledge might fit into your life, you can now sign up to speak to someone who has taken a pledge themselves — it’s a 30-minute, no-pressure conversation, and you can ask anything you’d like!

Do you have any feedback on our newsletter or communications? 

 with Giving What We Can and effective giving.

Do you have questions about the pledge, Giving What We Can, or effective giving in general? Check out our 

Learn how to stop buying things you don't need by exploring both practical strategies and addressing the underlying psychological triggers of impulsive spending.

We’ve all been there. After a stressful day at work, a glossy ad, and a one-click check-out situation, we’re suddenly $200 poorer and on our way to adding yet another pile of clothes we’ll never wear to an already cluttered closet.

Why does this happen? And how can we stop buying stuff that won’t make us happier?

Let’s start with a few general tips to help you better align your spending with your values. We’ll then look at a completely different approach — one that isn’t included in any of the conventional advice but which was a total gamechanger for me and for many people I know.

How to stop buying stuff? Most standard advice involves little hacks – things like:

: Don’t save your credit card info in your browser or phone, never use one-click checkouts, and avoid staying logged in to retail accounts. All of these things slow down the purchasing process, giving you more time to realise this isn’t something you actually want or need.

Forcing yourself to think the purchase through: 

This is usually done via a “wait before you buy” rule – whether that’s telling yourself you’ll “come back for it at the end”, instituting a 48-hour wait-time rule for online purchases, or noting down the purchases you’re considering and then making all of your buys at one, dedicated time every 30 days. The idea is to help differentiate the things you 

 want from those that just seem exciting in the moment.

Opt out of text notifications from retailers, install an ad blocker, unfollow retail accounts on social media, and find other coping mechanisms for emotional states that make you want to shop (you might decide to browse delicious recipes instead of retail sites or try watching a movie).

 work, but they don’t really address the psychology or mindset that leads us to clutter up our homes and spend money on things we don’t need in the first place. So instead of treating the 

 of the consumer mindset, what if we could change it altogether?

If my own experience is any indication, you can change the way you think about shopping. The trick is fully understanding:

My first job out of college was at a dramatic agency in Times Square. It seemed awesome – I would get to read plays, work with the author to improve them, and try to get them placed in theaters. However, it turned out that there wasn’t really any 

 for me to do – all the established clients already had an agent and the agency was living off licensing fees from its big hitters. I was bored, purposeless, and guilt-ridden for not finding something useful to do.

So I spent all of my lunch breaks…you guessed it …shopping. The concrete sense of accomplishment from finding an amazing deal at H&M, the bright colors & lights, even the walk through the hustle and bustle of Times Square — all of these caused me to feel at home and mission-driven rather than out of place and purposeless.

Finally, I realised I needed to switch jobs. When I did, my shopping slowed way down. I now felt useful at work, so I didn’t need to create an artificial mission or sense of accomplishment.

All this is to say – ask yourself: what drives you to shop? Perhaps your reasons stem from a similar sense of boredom or unfulfillment, or maybe it’s the opposite impulse –- wanting to relax & do something fun after a long, stressful work day. Whatever it is, it helps to know.

The psychological research on purchases & happiness

It’s not entirely accurate to say that shopping doesn’t make us happy – in fact, we often feel 

Blog

10 of the best quotes from Rutger Bregman’s Moral Ambition

May news: Inspiration from Rutger Bregman on The Daily Show

How to stop buying things you don’t need

April news: Big risks, small bites. AI, World Malaria Day, & more

Recalibrating for sustainable giving

Announcing our 2025 strategy

GWWC is retiring 10 initiatives

March News: Some powerful stories to cut through the noise

What's the antidote to hypernationalism?

February newsletter: US aid freeze – how to help & where to donate