Several months ago, billboards sprang up in the Dutch financial district. “If you’re so talented,” they said, “why do you work here?”
They were the brainchild of The School for Moral Ambition, a new project which aims to tempt the best and brightest away from jobs in finance, law, and consultancy, and into causes that help tackle the world’s most serious problems.
The school is the latest idea of Rutger Bregman, the Dutch historian and author who famously lit up Davos in 2019 with a tirade against rich philanthropists who don’t pay taxes. It’s a philanthropic project backed by a small group of funders, including Bregman himself, who is contributing all the royalties of his book, “Moral Ambition: How To Stop Wasting Your Talent and Start Making A Difference.”