George Monbiot on The Invisible Doctrine | 5x15

Join 5x15 for an explosive online event with leading writer and thinker George Monbiot on his #1 Sunday Times bestseller The Invisible Doctrine in conversation with Rosie Boycott.

How can you fight something if you don’t know it exists?

We live under an ideology that preys on every aspect of our lives: our education and our jobs; our healthcare and our leisure; our relationships and our mental wellbeing; the planet we inhabit – the very air we breathe. So pervasive has it become that, for most people, it has no name. It seems unavoidable, like a natural law.

But trace it back to its roots, and we discover that it is neither inevitable nor immutable. It was conceived, propagated, and then concealed by the powerful few. Our task is to bring it into the light—and to build a new system that is worth fighting for.

Neoliberalism. Do you know what it is?

Praise for The Invisible Doctrine

'Explosive and beautifully told … these truths can set us free' -Danny Dorling

'This book is dynamite – shining a spotlight on the evils of neoliberalism, shattering the myth that ‘there is no alternative’, and laying the foundations for a new politics' -Caroline Lucas

George Monbiot is an author, Guardian columnist and environmental campaigner. His best-selling books include The Invisible Doctrine, Regenesis: Feeding the World without Devouring the Planet, Feral: Rewilding the land, sea and human life and Heat: how to stop the planet burning and Out of the Wreckage: a new politics for an age of crisis. George cowrote the concept album Breaking the Spell of Loneliness with musician Ewan McLennan; and has made a number of viral videos. One of them, adapted from his 2013 TED talk, How Wolves Change Rivers, has been viewed on YouTube over 40m times. Another, on Natural Climate Solutions, that he co-presented with Greta Thunberg, has been watched over 50m times.

[davidwright]

Excellent explanation of our predicament a great book I hope it will open people's minds to reality.

[radman]

Bravo George! You're hitting your stride on this path ... please stay on it. We need you, and in my admittedly provincial opinion you waste too much of your focus on various and sundries. These goals are worthy of your attention. I can't wait to buy your book, this is the first I've heard of it.

[mikeharvey]

What’s happening to our nhs is a perfect example of how capitalism works…for the rich of course not us, who are dispensable. Thank you George, you’ll get lots of hate for this, but we admire you for your tenacity and knowledge. Take care. Barb

[mikem]

Such a joy to listen to some interesting and intelligent discussion with actual educated individuals instead of the insipid screaming matches (interrupted every 5 minutes by vapid relentless commercials) on right wing media. If i ever have to listen to tucker ranting about white replacement theory again I’ll saw my ears off with a rusty hacksaw

[lisawilliamson]

That was inspiring! Thank you, both. 🙏

[ievab.]

Wow, a great interviewer, super important topic and a very knowledgeableand interesting

[marketingmark]

This is a brilliant discussion, ive learnt a lot from this, thank you. I've just bought the book The Invisible Doctrine

[clivepierce]

Eloquence and erudition. Inspirational.

[billybobobenner]

Fascinating as always from George Monbiot. One small peeve though, I get that the interviewer was keen to be involved in George's monologue, and especially to let him and us know that she has read books that he has also read, but when he is helpfully telling us the title of a particular work and she speaks at the same time the title was on a couple of occasions lost in her speaking over him. One of these books was the autobiography of Madsen Pirie, but as the title was rendered totally unclear in this video, I haven't yet located it. I will re-double my efforts, but please interviewer, understand that your enthusiasm to show how well read you are can make the audio unclear for listeners.

[katepellegrini]

Great interview. I’m familiar with George’s thesis but he explains it very clearly here. His solution is ‘Radical Incrementalism’ I believe, a term coined by my husband Michael Robinson

[abody]

That's brilliant - *"the ultimate crime novel; one in which we all play a part"*

What a perfect way to describe our reality.

[robertjsmith]

George is a decent guy, a light in the darkness

[qrajrhd]

The phrase "We're all Keynesians now" is attributed to Milton Friedman, not Nixon.

[skuttlebucket]

Thank You - to hear the hunger and thirst for community "belonging" is the Hope within us all.

[billyliar]

This isn't Monbiot's opinion, it is merely an explanation of the facts. It is depressing that the majority of people who participate in our democracy are so ruddy ignorant about the world in which they live that they don't even know what they're voting for. It's a bit like eating a lump of soil because you think it's fish and chips, then being surprised by the outcome. Do Reform UK voters actually understand that it's an extreme pro-market party and that this, not anti-immigration, is actually their defining policy position, and that the market wouldn't allow restricted immigration ? I've long since thought that we should have some form of voter's licence in place which people should have to sit tests to acquire. Ignorant voting is far too ruddy dangerous.

[MrGavinBoyd]

We’ve had Thatcherism since 1979 which serves the interests of the wealthy. The problem with Thatcherism is that you eventually run out of assets like Thames Water to sell to investors so that they can rip off British consumers. 1. Reduce inequality by taxing the asset wealth of the rich. 2. Stop selling British assets and British companies to foreign control.

[malinheleneanderberg]

I recall when "individual" secret negotiation of pay/salary killed the unions in Sweden. The people who buy our skills, did it by telling people that, You are entitled to more pay than your colleague, who is doing the exact same thing as you. Strong unions died away. It was horrible to watch. Metal workers union try to fight Musk today in Sweden. The last stand. The teacher's union is infiltrated by the Buyers of skills. Not fighting at all!

[doobermanni]

two thirds of the conversation was very pleasant to listen to, but on the last third I would still think a bit more.
Before we start thinking about the rights of marriage (and changing them), we should really do more research on the impacts that nuclear family has on growing children.
E.g. on a larger scale, what impact does it have on children when they dont get the growth environment that the current nuclear family provides.
In these matters its very dangerous to lean just on emotivism and not logic and science.

[NelsonGuedes]

What is this poll that says most people didn't want to return to business as usual? I googled and can't find anything on that, of course 🙁

[tomt]

Great talk! George Monbiot is always super informative and interesting. But what about the fact our global society is well in to the middle of collapse?