Moral Maze debate: Rutger Bregman’s call for a moral revolution

Moral Maze debate: Rutger Bregman’s call for a moral revolution

From The Reith Lectures by BBC Radio 4

November 25, 2025 · 57 min

About this episode

Rutger Bregman discusses the need for a moral revolution to address societal issues and political apathy.

The Dutch historian Rutger Bregman, whose BBC Reith Lectures start this week, is calling for a moral revolution to change our societies for the better, charting how small groups of committed people – abolitionists, suffragettes, and temperance activists – have brought about positive social change. Politics, Bregman argues, is in trouble in an age of apathy and backsliding democracy: “The moral rot runs deep across elite institutions of every stripe”, he says, “if the right is defined by its shameless corruption, then liberals answer with a paralyzing cowardice”. So where might our moral salvation come? What are the deep values that underpin our contrasting political worldviews – left and right – and which should we look to prioritise now? Does any part of the political spectrum have the greatest claim to morality? Chair: Michael Buerk Panel: Matthew Taylor, James Orr, Mona Siddiqui and Tim Stanley. Witnesses: Tim Montgomerie, Eleanor Penny, Joanna Williams, Paul Mason Producer: Dan Tierney.

People in this episode

Host: Michael Buerk

Guest: Rutger Bregman

Topics covered

  • moral revolution
  • political change
  • social justice
  • democracy
  • political morality
  • historical movements

Keywords

  • moral revolution
  • Rutger Bregman
  • politics
  • social change
  • democracy
  • apathy
  • elite institutions

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: BBC, BBC Radio 4

More episodes of The Reith Lectures

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Reith Lectures podcast page.