George Monbiot

culture

The Never-Spotted Leopard
Are repeated sightings of non-existent big cats evidence of a yearning for a wilder life? Read more – ‘The Never-Spotted Leopard’.
La Nouvelle Trahison des Clercs
When scholars sell out, the consequences are grave. Read more – ‘La Nouvelle Trahison des Clercs’.
Heart Rot
If we lose the ash tree, we’ll lose culture as well as nature. Read more – ‘Heart Rot’.
Anomie
Enclosure and dispossession have driven us, like John Clare, all a little mad. Read more – ‘Anomie’.
Power Trips
What could be sillier and more invidious than the Observer’s “eco-power list”? Read more – ‘Power Trips’.
The Values of Everything
Progressive causes are failing: here’s how they could be turned around Read more – ‘The Values of Everything’.
The Holocaust We Will Not See
Avatar half-tells a story we would all prefer to forget Read more – ‘The Holocaust We Will Not See’.
Consumer Hell
How do we break a system which now permeates every aspect of our lives? Read more – ‘Consumer Hell’.
Death Denial
Why the sudden surge in climate change denial? Could it be about something else altogether? Read more – ‘Death Denial’.
Politically Transmitted Disease
Rising rates of teen pregnancy and STDs in the United States are the result of programmes intended to stamp them out. Read more – ‘Politically Transmitted Disease’.
Help Addicts, But Lock Up the Casual Users of Cocaine
The UN’s proposal for decriminalisation is senseless and destructive Read more – ‘Help Addicts, But Lock Up the Casual Users of Cocaine’.
The Propaganda of the Victor
How the poor were airbrushed from history Read more – ‘The Propaganda of the Victor’.
Someone Else’s England
You don’t have to be a nationalist, or English, to accept the case for an English parliament. Read more – ‘Someone Else’s England’.
The Open Veins of Wales
Dr Beeching helped turn the country I’ve come to love into an outpost of empire. Now his legacy can be reversed. Read more – ‘The Open Veins of Wales’.
Hypocrites Unite!
At least we have some ideals to fall short of. Read more – ‘Hypocrites Unite!’.
The Cult of the Heroic Animal
The Disneyfication of war allows us to ignore its real savagery Read more – ‘The Cult of the Heroic Animal’.
Lady Tonge – an Apology
I was wrong. She is not a bully, a fool or a stooge. She is a comedian. Read more – ‘Lady Tonge – an Apology’.
A Bully in Ermine
Lady Tonge is using her unelected position to persecute some of the world’s most vulnerable people. Read more – ‘A Bully in Ermine’.
The New Chauvinism
Why should I love this country? Read more – ‘The New Chauvinism’.
God of the Soil
Only when nomads settled on fertile land did the notion of progress take root Read more – ‘God of the Soil’.
Mocking Our Dreams
Climate change exposes progress as a myth Read more – ‘Mocking Our Dreams’.
Bring Them Back
We should welcome the return of the big wild mammals Read more – ‘Bring Them Back’.
Class War on the Hoof
If we want a classless society, banning hunting might be a step towards it. Read more – ‘Class War on the Hoof’.
Just Fade Away
It’s time to lighten up about falling birthrates. Read more – ‘Just Fade Away’.
Born Yesterday
Review of The Day After Tomorrow Read more – ‘Born Yesterday’.
Mighty Mouse
Disney’s infantilisation of our culture masks a hard, hegemonic will Read more – ‘Mighty Mouse’.
Natural Aesthetes
Wildlife is wonderful. We don’t need any other excuse to protect it. Read more – ‘Natural Aesthetes’.
Acceptable Hatred
Beneath the enduring hostility to Gypsies lies an ancient envy of the nomadic life Read more – ‘Acceptable Hatred’.
Driven Out of Eden
Our quest for Paradise always appears to result in eviction or genocide Read more – ‘Driven Out of Eden’.
Both Saviour and Victim
The film Black Hawk Down is helping to create a new myth of American nationhood, which threatens everyone on earth Read more – ‘Both Saviour and Victim’.
A New Mobilisation
The atomisation of society means that we must invent novel forms of political organisation Read more – ‘A New Mobilisation’.
No Blood Please, We’re British
Older mothers have been judged an offence against Nature Read more – ‘No Blood Please, We’re British’.
Reality Re-Asserts Itself
The floods are a reminder of our inability to conquer Nature Read more – ‘Reality Re-Asserts Itself’.
Stolen Identities
There’s a chance of stopping the massive fraud depriving Australia’s Aborigines of their royalties, but will it work? Read more – ‘Stolen Identities’.
The Living Dead
Our failure to prepare for death makes it more frightening Read more – ‘The Living Dead’.
Stirring up Hatred in the Countryside
The rich and powerful have started a new class war Read more – ‘Stirring up Hatred in the Countryside’.
We’re Not Materialistic Enough
It’s time to go back to the land Read more – ‘We’re Not Materialistic Enough’.
The Human Zoo
Tourists are becoming involved in slavery Read more – ‘The Human Zoo’.
Breeding Reptiles in the Mind
Tourism that trades in mythology makes the world a crueller place Read more – ‘Breeding Reptiles in the Mind’.
People With Eyes
Why the Maasai came to believe that tourists have the evil eye. Read more – ‘People With Eyes’.
Acceptable Cruelty
Why is it still acceptable to send young children to boarding school? Read more – ‘Acceptable Cruelty’.
A Beautiful Fraud
Cider with Rosie celebrates a past that never existed Read more – ‘A Beautiful Fraud’.
Britain’s Ethnic Cleansing
Gypsy culture is being systematically eliminated through a forced assimilation programme Read more – ‘Britain’s Ethnic Cleansing’.
Grubbing Out the Past
Britain’s archaeology is being obliterated – often with the help of archaeologists – yet hardly anyone seems to care Read more – ‘Grubbing Out the Past’.
We Aren’t Robots
The extraordinary work of the neurobiologist Antonio Damasio shows that wisdom is inextricable from emotion Read more – ‘We Aren’t Robots’.
Whose Nation, Whose Trust?
The National Trust must lose its attachment to aristocratic values Read more – ‘Whose Nation, Whose Trust?’.
The Collapsing Tower of Babel
Language barriers are good, not bad, and their loss is a disaster for hundreds of millions of people Read more – ‘The Collapsing Tower of Babel’.
Britain’s Cultural Cleansing
Our treatment of gypsies and travellers reveals Little England at its worst: mean-spirited, vindictive and narrow-minded. Read more – ‘Britain’s Cultural Cleansing’.
Subversive Genius
Roads protesters are bringing art and necessity back together, sowing the seeds of cultural renewal Read more – ‘Subversive Genius’.
The Astromancer
Did Ledumen, the celebrated Samburu prophet, know I was coming to visit him three months before I decided to do so? Read more – ‘The Astromancer’.
Wishful Thinking
Environmentalism is yet to inspire a great novel Read more – ‘Wishful Thinking’.
The Smith and the Devil
Why are the same myths associated with blacksmiths all over the world? Read more – ‘The Smith and the Devil’.