Why free time, more money, and a little bit of dreaming could be the healthiest things we ever do

Unusually for me, I’ve decided to get a health message across after reading a book. Usually, I decide to do it while talking about a movie I’ve watched — normally horror, for some reason I’m drawn to it.

Anyway, have you read Utopia for Realists by Rutger Bregman?
If not, I fully recommend it. It talks about three main things: Universal Basic Income, shorter working weeks, and open borders.

Today I want to talk about them and how they can make a difference not just to our own health and the health of the nation, but to the health of human beings in general.

Let’s be honest — most of us are running around like headless chickens, trying to wedge “health” into the gaps between work, commuting, scrolling, and collapsing on the sofa with a family-sized bag of crisps.

And it’s not because we don’t care about being healthy. It’s because modern life is a giant game of Tetris, and for a lot of us, our health is that awkward block that never seems to fit.

That’s why Utopia for Realists isn’t just some political wish list — it’s a direct shot of common sense for anyone who’s ever said, “I just don’t have time” or “I can’t afford to eat healthy.”

1. Money to Eat Well, Not Just to Survive

Let’s kill the “healthy food is a choice” myth. If you’ve ever stared at the difference between the price of a fresh salmon fillet and a £1 frozen pizza, you know exactly why people on tight budgets reach for the cheaper, faster, more filling option — especially when you’re trying to feed a family of four or more on a tight budget.

A Universal Basic Income wouldn’t magically make everyone suddenly love fresh veg, but it would take the edge off the constant money stress that pushes people towards cheap calories and away from nutrient-rich food.

With enough financial breathing room, you could:

• Choose fresh produce over ultra-processed junk.
• Batch-cook healthy meals without worrying about gas/electric bills.
• Don’t spend time worrying about keeping a roof over your head, so you don’t have to work 70-odd hours a week just to get by.

When money stress is lower, willpower doesn’t have to work so fucking hard, and things become a little bit easier.

2. Time to Move Your Body, Not Just Your Mouse

Bregman’s dream of a 15-hour workweek might sound like a fantasy, but remember — we used to work 80 hours a week, seven days straight. Now we have weekends because someone dreamed big and fought for them.

Now, don’t get me wrong — I’m not sure a 15-hour workweek would work. But for a lot of you reading this, a four-day workweek would certainly work. It’s been shown in many trials, and some companies are now bringing it in, finding productivity increases, and their workforce is happier.

Now, to speak like a complete capitalist — happier workforce + better productivity = better profits.

But what does more free time mean for you?

• Actually making it to the gym without having to do a 5 am zombie shuffle.
• Cooking instead of speed-dialling Deliveroo.
• Walking the dog without clock-watching like you’re on a SAS escape mission.

Stress reduction alone would be huge for health. Chronic stress jacks up your cortisol, messes with sleep, and increases cravings for high-calorie comfort food. Time freedom isn’t laziness — it’s the most underrated recovery tool out there.

3. Access to Better Environments

The last topic he talks about is open borders. I can talk about why this is ideal because we’re all human beings, but it might feel far removed from health at first glance. In reality, opportunity changes lifestyle.

If people can live and work in places where living standards are better, food quality is higher, and healthcare is accessible, health outcomes improve almost overnight.

How many times have you been away and said to yourself, “I could live here”? You know how much the environment can shift your habits. Imagine being able to choose that lifestyle permanently because you’re not stuck where opportunities are scarce.

I can already hear people saying, Well, you can’t just have people upping and moving about and to be honest, a vast majority of us won’t move away from where we are anyway, but it just gives people options.

The Knock-On Effects

When you combine money, time, and choice, the ripple effect is massive:

• Better mental health – reduced financial anxiety and more social connections.
• Better physical health – more time for movement, less processed food.
• Preventative healthcare – the ability to see a physio or nutritionist before it becomes an A&E visit. Imagine the savings and pressure reduction on the NHS by having a healthier nation that doesn’t need treatment for many lifestyle issues like high blood pressure or type 2 diabetes, because the need for treatment has been reduced.
• Generational health shifts – kids growing up seeing healthy eating and exercise as normal, not luxuries.

This doesn’t even go into the benefits for the nation’s coffers. Imagine all those people being able to start living their dreams because they don’t feel trapped in the fucking hamster wheel of life.

Yes, there will be doubters saying people will just blow it on drink and drugs, and nothing changes. Sure, there will always be a small number who take the piss — it happens now. The question is: why should the health of everyone else be fucked over because of a small minority?

Why “Impossible” Ideas Matter for Health

Every big health breakthrough in history — clean water, public sanitation, free healthcare — sounded expensive and unrealistic before it happened.

My generation especially, has grown up with the “just work harder” model. The hustle model. Work hard and it’ll all pay off in the end. The only thing it’s doing is burning people out, fuelling obesity, and driving mental health problems through the roof. It’s like telling someone to run a marathon with concrete boots on.

What Bregman’s book does brilliantly is remind us that a healthier, freer, fairer world isn’t utopia — it can just be the next step.

Is it easy to accomplish? Fuck no. But neither were the things I mentioned earlier. Right now, it feels like we’re running headlong into crisis after fucking crisis, the world is burning, and the people in power are just cunts looking out for themselves.

Things need to change.

You can’t out-discipline a broken system.

If we want a healthier population, we need to make health easier, cheaper, and more accessible — and that means daring to think beyond the grind culture we’ve been sold.

More money. More time. More choice.

It’s not lazy. It’s not idealistic.

It’s the most realistic way to make health the default instead of the exception.

Healthier people, happier people — that just means a better, healthier planet.

We can have a better world, a better human race, a healthier one, and a place that isn’t just run by cunts. A place that doesn’t just depress the fuck out of you on a daily basis, a place where you don’t feel that you are just smashing your head against a brick wall daily.