3. A conspiracy of decency

The Reith Lectures

BBC

Society & Culture, Science, Government, Technology

4.2 • 770 Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2025

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Dutch historian Rutger Bregman's 2025 Reith Lectures, called "Moral Revolution", explore the moral decay and un-seriousness of today's elites. He argues that small, committed groups can spark moral revolutions, emphasizing the importance of perseverance and long-term vision.

In this third of four lectures, Bregman argues for a new "realist utopia," calling for people to join what he labels" a conspiracy of decency." He says that in the face of rapid technological change, we need to promote ideas like Universal Basic Income, fairer taxation and responsible tech regulation.

The Reith Lectures are presented by Anita Anand who chairs a Q & A. The programme was recorded in front of an audience in Edinburgh. The series is produced by Jim Frank. The Editor is Clare Fordham. The programmes are mixed by Neil Churchill.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, podcasts.
0:07.0	My Christmas Mix is pure 90s festive nostalgia.
0:11.1	You know, the Christmas songs you listen to on repeat.
0:14.0	Ho!
0:14.3	Ho! Ho! No, no, no.
0:17.5	I'm all about the big hitting Christmas anthems.
0:20.4	Come on, guys. What about those tunes that really
0:22.9	slay? It's Christmas kitchen disco season, surely. Give me hip-hop Christmas bangers every day. Those
0:28.8	Christmas tracks that are straight out of lapland. Get all kinds of Christmassy. Just search Christmas
0:33.6	music on BBC Sounds. Hello, my name is Rutgers Brackman, and in my third BBC Radio for a Reith lecture, I'll be
0:41.1	talking about a conspiracy of decency.
0:45.2	Hello, and welcome to Edinburgh for the third of this year's Reith lectures with Rutger
0:50.4	Breggman.
0:51.4	Now, this capital city means a lot to our speaker as once upon a time,
0:56.4	it served as a cradle for the Scottish Enlightenment. Today, we're at the University of Edinburgh,
1:02.0	where, during the 18th and 19th centuries, ideas of virtue preoccupied some of the greatest thinkers
1:09.0	of their day. Now, in the 21st century, that same idea
1:14.3	of virtue lies at the heart of Rutger Bregman's Moral Revolution series. He's asking, how can we
1:22.1	make goodness fashionable again? Now, that question sounds pretty simple, but is the answer just as straightforward?
1:31.4	Known for speaking his mind, Rutger Bregman has been setting out the case for a total transformation of the way we think and the way we live.
1:40.1	He believes that working together, small groups of ordinary people can transform the entire world.
1:48.4	This third lecture is entitled, A Conspiracy of Decency.
	...

Transcript will be available on the free plan in 22 days. Upgrade to see the full transcript now.

Previous episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.