Dutch historian Rutger Bregman and best-selling author of “Moral Ambition,” spoke to a room of around 100 students in Robertson Hall last Friday. The event focused on redefining success in terms of global impact rather than traditional “black hole” professions in the fields of consulting, finance, corporate law, and big tech.
Bregman is the co-founder of The School for Moral Ambition, a nonprofit that provides fellowships and scholarships for students motivated to tackle large-scale global issues. The event inaugurated the pilot program of the Princeton chapter for The School for Moral Ambitions’ College Network, where students work with New Jersey legislators to impact policy.
At the event, Bregman defined “moral ambition” as the desire to make the world a better place. “It is a combination of four things: It’s the idealism of an activist, it’s the ambition of an entrepreneur, it’s the rigorous mindset of a scientist, and it’s the humility of a mother.”
The school aims to make “doing good fashionable once again.”
He cited the Garden State Fellowship offered through the School of Public and International Affairs, as a good way for students to use Princeton's resources to enact positive change. The Fellowship pays Princeton students to work at a nonprofit in the year following their graduation.
Bregman encouraged students at universities to avoid climbing the wrong ladder, claiming that “your twenties are really the time when you write the constitution for the rest of your life.”
Bregman said the “black hole” takes away highly talented individuals who could use their skills to make a difference in the world. He said he hopes that through the School for Moral Ambition, students can easily transition into careers that have a positive impact while also being viewed as desirable and prestigious.
Bregman would like to see the School for Moral Ambition have an impact on University students who are in the process of determining where their life is headed.
“Once McKinsey gets its claws in you, then it’s going to be much harder,” Bregman said. “So think hard about when you are ambitious. Where should the ladder stand? Which wall do you want to climb?”
Katelynn Lee is a staff News writer for the ‘Prince.’
Please send any corrections to corrections[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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