TED2017
Rutger Bregman: Poverty isn't a lack of character; it's a lack of cash
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"Ideas can and do change the world," says historian Rutger Bregman, sharing his case for a provocative one: guaranteed basic income. Learn more about the idea's 500-year history and a forgotten modern experiment where it actually worked -- and imagine how much energy and talent we would unleash if we got rid of poverty once and for all.
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
I'd like to start with a simple question:
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Why do the poor make
so many poor decisions?
so many poor decisions?
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I know it's a harsh question,
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but take a look at the data.
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The poor borrow more, save less,
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smoke more, exercise less, drink more
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and eat less healthfully.
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Why?
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Well, the standard explanation
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was once summed up by the British
Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.
Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher.
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And she called poverty
"a personality defect."
"a personality defect."
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(Laughter)
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A lack of character, basically.
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Now, I'm sure not many of you
would be so blunt.
would be so blunt.
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But the idea that there's something
wrong with the poor themselves
wrong with the poor themselves
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is not restricted to Mrs. Thatcher.
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Some of you may believe that the poor
should be held responsible
should be held responsible
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for their own mistakes.
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And others may argue that we should
help them to make better decisions.
help them to make better decisions.
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But the underlying assumption is the same:
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there's something wrong with them.
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If we could just change them,
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if we could just teach them
how to live their lives,
how to live their lives,
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if they would only listen.
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And to be honest,
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this was what I thought for a long time.
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It was only a few years ago
that I discovered
that I discovered
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that everything I thought I knew
about poverty was wrong.
about poverty was wrong.
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It all started when I accidentally
stumbled upon a paper
stumbled upon a paper
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by a few American psychologists.
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They had traveled 8,000 miles,
all the way to India,
all the way to India,
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for a fascinating study.
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And it was an experiment
with sugarcane farmers.
with sugarcane farmers.
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You should know that these farmers
collect about 60 percent
collect about 60 percent
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of their annual income all at once,
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right after the harvest.
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This means that they're relatively
poor one part of the year
poor one part of the year
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and rich the other.
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The researchers asked them to do
an IQ test before and after the harvest.
an IQ test before and after the harvest.
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What they subsequently discovered
completely blew my mind.
completely blew my mind.
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The farmers scored much worse
on the test before the harvest.
on the test before the harvest.
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The effects of living
in poverty, it turns out,
in poverty, it turns out,
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correspond to losing 14 points of IQ.
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Now, to give you an idea,
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that's comparable
to losing a night's sleep
to losing a night's sleep
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or the effects of alcoholism.
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02:34
A few months later,
I heard that Eldar Shafir,
I heard that Eldar Shafir,
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a professor at Princeton University
and one of the authors of this study,
and one of the authors of this study,
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was coming over to Holland, where I live.
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So we met up in Amsterdam
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to talk about his revolutionary
new theory of poverty.
new theory of poverty.
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And I can sum it up in just two words:
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scarcity mentality.
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It turns out that people
behave differently
behave differently
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when they perceive a thing to be scarce.
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And what that thing is
doesn't much matter --
doesn't much matter --
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whether it's not enough time,
money or food.
money or food.
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03:05
You all know this feeling,
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when you've got too much to do,
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or when you've put off breaking for lunch
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and your blood sugar takes a dive.
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This narrows your focus
to your immediate lack --
to your immediate lack --
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to the sandwich you've got to have now,
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the meeting that's starting
in five minutes
in five minutes
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or the bills that have
to be paid tomorrow.
to be paid tomorrow.
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So the long-term perspective
goes out the window.
goes out the window.
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You could compare it to a new computer
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that's running 10 heavy programs at once.
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It gets slower and slower, making errors.
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Eventually, it freezes --
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not because it's a bad computer,
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but because it has too much to do at once.
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The poor have the same problem.
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They're not making dumb decisions
because they are dumb,
because they are dumb,
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but because they're living in a context
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in which anyone would make dumb decisions.
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So suddenly I understood
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why so many of our anti-poverty
programs don't work.
programs don't work.
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Investments in education, for example,
are often completely ineffective.
are often completely ineffective.
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Poverty is not a lack of knowledge.
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A recent analysis of 201 studies
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on the effectiveness
of money-management training
of money-management training
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came to the conclusion
that it has almost no effect at all.
that it has almost no effect at all.
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Now, don't get me wrong --
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this is not to say the poor
don't learn anything --
don't learn anything --
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they can come out wiser for sure.
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But it's not enough.
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Or as Professor Shafir told me,
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"It's like teaching someone to swim
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and then throwing them in a stormy sea."
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I still remember sitting there,
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perplexed.
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And it struck me
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that we could have figured
this all out decades ago.
this all out decades ago.
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I mean, these psychologists didn't need
any complicated brain scans;
any complicated brain scans;
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they only had to measure the farmer's IQ,
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and IQ tests were invented
more that 100 years ago.
more that 100 years ago.
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Actually, I realized I had read about
the psychology of poverty before.
the psychology of poverty before.
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George Orwell, one of the greatest
writers who ever lived,
writers who ever lived,
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experienced poverty
firsthand in the 1920s.
firsthand in the 1920s.
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"The essence of poverty,"
he wrote back then,
he wrote back then,
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is that it "annihilates the future."
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And he marveled at, quote,
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"How people take it for granted
they have the right to preach at you
they have the right to preach at you
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and pray over you
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as soon as your income falls
below a certain level."
below a certain level."
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Now, those words are every bit
as resonant today.
as resonant today.
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The big question is, of course:
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What can be done?
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Modern economists have
a few solutions up their sleeves.
a few solutions up their sleeves.
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We could help the poor
with their paperwork
with their paperwork
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or send them a text message
to remind them to pay their bills.
to remind them to pay their bills.
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This type of solution is hugely popular
with modern politicians,
with modern politicians,
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mostly because,
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well, they cost next to nothing.
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These solutions are, I think,
a symbol of this era
a symbol of this era
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in which we so often treat the symptoms,
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but ignore the underlying cause.
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So I wonder:
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Why don't we just change the context
in which the poor live?
in which the poor live?
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Or, going back to our computer analogy:
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Why keep tinkering around
with the software
with the software
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when we can easily solve the problem
by installing some extra memory instead?
by installing some extra memory instead?
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At that point, Professor Shafir
responded with a blank look.
responded with a blank look.
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And after a few seconds, he said,
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"Oh, I get it.
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You mean you want to just hand out
more money to the poor
more money to the poor
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to eradicate poverty.
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Uh, sure, that'd be great.
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But I'm afraid that brand
of left-wing politics
of left-wing politics
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you've got in Amsterdam --
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it doesn't exist in the States."
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But is this really
an old-fashioned, leftist idea?
an old-fashioned, leftist idea?
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I remembered reading about an old plan --
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something that has been proposed
by some of history's leading thinkers.
by some of history's leading thinkers.
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The philosopher Thomas More
first hinted at it in his book, "Utopia,"
first hinted at it in his book, "Utopia,"
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more than 500 years ago.
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And its proponents have spanned
the spectrum from the left to the right,
the spectrum from the left to the right,
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from the civil rights campaigner,
Martin Luther King,
Martin Luther King,
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to the economist Milton Friedman.
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And it's an incredibly simple idea:
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basic income guarantee.
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What it is?
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Well, that's easy.
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It's a monthly grant, enough to pay
for your basic needs:
for your basic needs:
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food, shelter, education.
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It's completely unconditional,
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so no one's going to tell you
what you have to do for it,
what you have to do for it,
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and no one's going to tell you
what you have to do with it.
what you have to do with it.
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The basic income
is not a favor, but a right.
is not a favor, but a right.
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There's absolutely no stigma attached.
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So as I learned about the true
nature of poverty,
nature of poverty,
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I couldn't stop wondering:
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Is this the idea
we've all been waiting for?
we've all been waiting for?
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Could it really be that simple?
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And in the three years that followed,
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I read everything I could find
about basic income.
about basic income.
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I researched the dozens of experiments
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that have been conducted
all over the globe,
all over the globe,
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and it didn't take long before I stumbled
upon a story of a town
upon a story of a town
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that had done it --
had actually eradicated poverty.
had actually eradicated poverty.
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But then ...
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nearly everyone forgot about it.
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This story starts in Dauphin, Canada.
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In 1974, everybody in this small town
was guaranteed a basic income,
was guaranteed a basic income,
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ensuring that no one fell
below the poverty line.
below the poverty line.
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At the start of the experiment,
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an army of researchers
descended on the town.
descended on the town.
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For four years, all went well.
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But then a new government
was voted into power,
was voted into power,
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and the new Canadian cabinet saw
little point to the expensive experiment.
little point to the expensive experiment.
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So when it became clear there was
no money left to analyze the results,
no money left to analyze the results,
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the researchers decided to pack
their files away in some 2,000 boxes.
their files away in some 2,000 boxes.
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Twenty-five years went by,
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and then Evelyn Forget,
a Canadian professor,
a Canadian professor,
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found the records.
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For three years, she subjected the data
to all manner of statistical analysis,
to all manner of statistical analysis,
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and no matter what she tried,
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the results were the same every time:
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the experiment had been
a resounding success.
a resounding success.
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Evelyn Forget discovered
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that the people in Dauphin
had not only become richer
had not only become richer
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but also smarter and healthier.
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The school performance of kids
improved substantially.
improved substantially.
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The hospitalization rate decreased
by as much as 8.5 percent.
by as much as 8.5 percent.
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Domestic violence incidents were down,
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as were mental health complaints.
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And people didn't quit their jobs.
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The only ones who worked a little less
were new mothers and students --
were new mothers and students --
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who stayed in school longer.
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Similar results have since been found
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in countless other experiments
around the globe,
around the globe,
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from the US to India.
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So ...
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here's what I've learned.
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When it comes to poverty,
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we, the rich, should stop
pretending we know best.
pretending we know best.
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We should stop sending shoes
and teddy bears to the poor,
and teddy bears to the poor,
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to people we have never met.
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And we should get rid of the vast
industry of paternalistic bureaucrats
industry of paternalistic bureaucrats
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when we could simply
hand over their salaries
hand over their salaries
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to the poor they're supposed to help.
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(Applause)
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Because, I mean, the great
thing about money
thing about money
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is that people can use it
to buy things they need
to buy things they need
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instead of things that self-appointed
experts think they need.
experts think they need.
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Just imagine how many brilliant scientists
and entrepreneurs and writers,
and entrepreneurs and writers,
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like George Orwell,
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are now withering away in scarcity.
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Imagine how much energy
and talent we would unleash
and talent we would unleash
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if we got rid of poverty once and for all.
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I believe that a basic income would work
like venture capital for the people.
like venture capital for the people.
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And we can't afford not to do it,
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because poverty is hugely expensive.
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Just look at the cost of child poverty
in the US, for example.
in the US, for example.
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It's estimated at 500 billion
dollars each year,
dollars each year,
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in terms of higher health care
spending, higher dropout rates,
spending, higher dropout rates,
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and more crime.
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Now, this is an incredible waste
of human potential.
of human potential.
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But let's talk about
the elephant in the room.
the elephant in the room.
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How could we ever afford
a basic income guarantee?
a basic income guarantee?
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Well, it's actually a lot cheaper
than you may think.
than you may think.
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What they did in Dauphin is finance it
with a negative income tax.
with a negative income tax.
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This means that your income is topped up
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as soon as you fall
below the poverty line.
below the poverty line.
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And in that scenario,
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according to our economists'
best estimates,
best estimates,
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for a net cost of 175 billion --
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a quarter of US military spending,
one percent of GDP --
one percent of GDP --
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you could lift all impoverished Americans
above the poverty line.
above the poverty line.
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You could actually eradicate poverty.
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Now, that should be our goal.
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(Applause)
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The time for small thoughts
and little nudges is past.
and little nudges is past.
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I really believe that the time has come
for radical new ideas,
for radical new ideas,
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and basic income is so much more
than just another policy.
than just another policy.
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It is also a complete rethink
of what work actually is.
of what work actually is.
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And in that sense,
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it will not only free the poor,
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but also the rest of us.
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Nowadays, millions of people feel
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that their jobs have little
meaning or significance.
meaning or significance.
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A recent poll among 230,000 employees
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in 142 countries
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found that only 13 percent of workers
actually like their job.
actually like their job.
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And another poll found that as much
as 37 percent of British workers
as 37 percent of British workers
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have a job that they think
doesn't even need to exist.
doesn't even need to exist.
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It's like Brad Pitt says in "Fight Club,"
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"Too often we're working jobs we hate
so we can buy shit we don't need."
so we can buy shit we don't need."
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(Laughter)
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Now, don't get me wrong --
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I'm not talking about the teachers
and the garbagemen
and the garbagemen
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and the care workers here.
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If they stopped working,
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we'd be in trouble.
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I'm talking about all those well-paid
professionals with excellent résumés
professionals with excellent résumés
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who earn their money doing ...
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strategic transactor peer-to-peer meetings
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while brainstorming the value
add-on of disruptive co-creation
add-on of disruptive co-creation
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in the network society.
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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Or something like that.
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Just imagine again how much
talent we're wasting,
talent we're wasting,
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simply because we tell our kids
they'll have to "earn a living."
they'll have to "earn a living."
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Or think of what a math whiz working
at Facebook lamented a few years ago:
at Facebook lamented a few years ago:
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"The best minds of my generation
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are thinking about how
to make people click ads."
to make people click ads."
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I'm a historian.
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And if history teaches us anything,
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it is that things could be different.
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There is nothing inevitable
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about the way we structured our society
and economy right now.
and economy right now.
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Ideas can and do change the world.
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And I think that especially
in the past few years,
in the past few years,
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it has become abundantly clear
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that we cannot stick to the status quo --
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13:36
that we need new ideas.
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I know that many of you
may feel pessimistic
may feel pessimistic
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about a future of rising inequality,
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13:45
xenophobia
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and climate change.
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But it's not enough
to know what we're against.
to know what we're against.
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We also need to be for something.
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Martin Luther King didn't say,
"I have a nightmare."
"I have a nightmare."
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(Laughter)
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He had a dream.
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(Applause)
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So ...
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here's my dream:
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I believe in a future
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where the value of your work
is not determined
is not determined
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by the size of your paycheck,
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but by the amount of happiness you spread
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and the amount of meaning you give.
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14:13
I believe in a future
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where the point of education is not
to prepare you for another useless job
to prepare you for another useless job
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but for a life well-lived.
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I believe in a future
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where an existence
without poverty is not a privilege
without poverty is not a privilege
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14:25
but a right we all deserve.
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14:27
So here we are.
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Here we are.
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We've got the research,
we've got the evidence
we've got the evidence
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and we've got the means.
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Now, more than 500 years after Thomas More
first wrote about a basic income,
first wrote about a basic income,
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and 100 years after George Orwell
discovered the true nature of poverty,
discovered the true nature of poverty,
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we all need to change our worldview,
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because poverty
is not a lack of character.
is not a lack of character.
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Poverty is a lack of cash.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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4423
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Rutger Bregman - HistorianRutger Bregman is the author of "Utopia for Realists."
Why you should listen
Rutger Bregman is one of Europe's most prominent young thinkers. The 28-year-old historian and author has published four books on history, philosophy and economics. His book Utopia for Realists -- on universal basic income and other radical ideas -- has been translated in more than 20 languages. His work has been featured in The Washington Post and The Guardian and on the BBC.
Rutger Bregman | Speaker | TED.com