The Ideological Bubble of
George Monbiot
Part 5 of 6:
Politics, Culture & Society -
2017 Articles
Part 1 of 6: Health & The Environment - 2016 Articles
Part 2 of 6: Health & The Environment - 2017 Articles
Part 3 of 6: Health & The Environment - 2018 Articles
Part 4 of 6: Politcs, Culture & Society - 2016 Articles
Part 5 of 6: Politcs, Culture & Society - 2017 Articles
Part 6 of 6: Politcs, Culture & Society - 2018 Articles
By: Shawn Alli
Posted: November 27, 2018
Image Copyright belongs to Getty Images/Barcroft Media
*All parties receive one full day (24 hours) of pre-publication notice.
In a January 2017 article, Monbiot decries Trump's climate change actions. [1] Yawn. Sadly, he believes that the communist Chinese government will take the lead. But as we know today, that's just a false illusion. The economic policies of China, Canada, and Russia will burst the 2 Celsius limit to 5 Celsius. [2]
In another January article, Monbiot talks about retooling our democracy with campaign finance limits, being more pro-active with voters, and more ballot initiatives. [3] Monbiot shoots down direct democracy (actually voting for policy).
Sorry, but direct democracy is the only one that counts as a real democracy. If you have politicians in power (representative democracy) the system can/will be easily gamed and corrupted, which is what we have now. I argue that a skoparxist government can be the answer in creating a real democracy (see Philosophy of Governance & Economics in Philosophy Reborn Part I: Purpose). Note, you can't reform the political system without reforming the economic aspect. Both are interdependent on each other.
Oddly enough, in the same article, Monbiot shoots down referendums for larger issues such as membership into the EU because the issues are supposedly too complex for the average person. [3] That's completely false and disingenuous. Most people in Western-European countries are highly educated. It's not rocket science to break down political and economic consequences. Because of such claims, and his lack of support for direct democracy, I would call Monbiot an enemy of democracy. Of course, all liberals will see themselves as the opposite, as heroes of democracy. Right or wrong, your ideological bubble will always be correct in your mind.
In a February article, Monbiot talks about dark corporate money corrupting the US and the UK with the rise of Trump and Brexit. [4] Yawn. Liberals are completely biased about the issue (what else is new?). In the mind of liberals (including Monbiot) any non-profit that advocates conservative policies is corrupting democracy and funded by dark money. Any non-profit advocating liberal ideologies and funded by billionaire liberals is naturally good. See the problem?
In another February article, Monbiot decries the Western public education system because it produces little more than mindless robots. [5] Monbiot is more or less correct on this. The Prussian Western educational model was designed to create drone workers. It wasn't designed to foster and develop creativity and ingenuity. Some of the great modern innovators dropped out of postsecondary school in order to create something better.
In another February article, Monbiot believes that only the kindness of community can restore political engagement and make people happier. [6] Yes and no. While community can play a significant role in people's lives, many people today are an island onto themselves. And if they're not an island, they’ll usually only allow their partner/spouse on the island and maybe one or two friends.
Personally, I think a major stepping stone in people moving forward is to have someone who loves them without any judgment in their corner. I mean a person who would love them unconditionally and support them (even if they're a serial killer or a rapist). Of course, all humans judge. Hence, I'm looking more at the non-physical realm of positive angelic beings). I've never met, seen, or heard of such beings. But if they exist, they could go a long way in repairing the damage done to a person’s soul.
In another February article, Monbiot talks about the dangers of conservative online echo chambers. [7] Though I lean conservative for most issues I'll admit that extreme conservative ideologies can breed racism and sexism. But the idea that liberal echo chambers are benign is false. Liberal echo chambers can create a false reality just as much as conservative ones.
And what about extreme liberal ideologies, moving towards progressive ideologies like socialism, which is one rung down from communism? Socialist and communist countries usually fail. China is the only exception. Without a dictatorship grip, many believe that the communist system in China would fail. And today we all know that Venezuela's socialist experiment was a complete failure. The idea that socialist systems don’t breed corruption is a false illusion. I look forward to seeing how progressives and mainstream democrats get along in the US House of Representative in 2019.
In a March article, Monbiot believes that Big Data can improve democracy despite the use of Big Data in the US election and UK referendum. [8] That's complete nonsense. Big Data has no power to improve a real democracy (like a skoparxist government). But the current Western forms of democracy aren't real. Hence, Big Data will only help to consolidate power within the elites.
In an April article, Monbiot advocates doughnut economics where people and natural resources are valued in order to combat the current economic system. [9] Almost every idiot with a high school degree or a bachelor's degree believes that they have the answers in creating a successful economy. In reality, none of the past, current or future economic models are falsifiable. They can't be proven wrong. And if they can't be proven wrong, it's little more than guessing and conditioning people to serve one ideology vs. the other.
It's just a pissing contest between various economic models.
Contrary to what you may believe, the academic discipline of economics has zero predictive power. No one can predict anything with any level of accuracy. Not Wall Street, not liberal academics, not Economics professors, and not even the Big Banks. Everyone is just guessing.
And there is no economic model that can eliminate inequality, sexism, racism, and greed. Such things are unfalsifiable ideologies. Unfalsifiable ideologies cannot be proven wrong. And all ideologies lie in the realm of the non-physical world. Hence, all ideologies are bulletproof and censorship proof. Especially the unfalsifiable ones. People who don't understand that will never revolutionize the world to a significant degree.
In another April article, Monbiot laments the rise of Trump and Brexit again. [10] Of course. Trump and Brexit are evil while Clinton/Bernie Sanders and the European Union are good. While that's an oversimplification, that’s pretty much what it boils down to for all liberals and progressives.
Monbiot writes more articles against Brexit because of its dark money. I hate poor losers. Just like the US election, liberals are very poor losers (look at the 2018 midterm elections). At least conservatives usually do it with some grace. Liberals decry the Koch Brothers boogeyman while conservatives decry the Soros boogeyman. I feel bad for both sides.
In another April article, Monbiot declares his support for the liberal Labour party vs. Theresa May's Conservative party. [11] And? This article is merely a rationalization to support a liberal candidate even if they're abhorrent. It's the lesser of two evils. This sounds like the same thing that all US mainstream and alternative media outlets claimed as well in their support for Hilary Clinton. They probably cried themselves to sleep when they realized that Trump won. A very rare victory for conservatives. Monbiot writes a few more articles like this one. I can't bother to reference them. But even after all his articles, Monbiot's party (Labour) loses badly.
And just to be clear, I support most of Trump's policies as of November 2018. But I don't support Trump himself or his atrocious character. Like most people, sometimes I separate the art from the artist. Though it would be nice if Trump yielded his spot on the 2020 ticket and Let Mike Pence and Rand Paul take the center stage.
In a May article, Monbiot implores people not to lose faith in humanity due to terrorism. [12] It's an odd article. I don't know of a single person who's ever lost faith because of various terrorist attacks, not even after 9/11.
A good deal of Monbiot's articles are quite repetitive. I've already addressed most of the issues in prior articles so I won't bother to reference them.
In an October article, Monbiot changes his opinion on referendums and believes that more is better than few. [13] Kudos to him. Like I said, Monbiot knows that representative democracy is not a real democracy. He just doesn't have the balls to say it like that. I hope he gets them one day.
In a November 2017 article, Monbiot claims that tyranny will reign down on the UK after Brexit if healthcare, public broadcasters, and social security disappear. [14] One, social security will never disappear in Western countries. It's the only reason why the very poor don't destroy the middle class. Two, the UK public healthcare system is sh*t just like Canada's. Perhaps Monbiot received extra special treatment in his prostate cancer surgery. Or maybe he was just lucky. And three, public broadcasters will always be a part of Western countries in some manner. But they are in no way the foundation of a country. I thought Monbiot believed that community was the foundation to society?
References:
[1] Monbiot, George. Donald Trump's mission? To keep the US in the fossil age. Guardian. January 17, 2017.
[2] Watts, Jonathan. Policies of China, Russia and Canada threaten 5C climate change, study finds. Guardian. November 26, 2018.
[3] Monbiot, George. Our democracy is broken, debased and distrusted – but there are ways to fix it. Guardian. January 25, 2017.
[4] Monbiot, George. How corporate dark money is taking power on both sides of the Atlantic. Guardian. February 2, 2017.
[5] Monbiot, George. In an age of robots, schools are teaching our children to be redundant. Guardian. February 15, 2017.
[6] Monbiot, George. This is how people can truly take back control: from the bottom up. Guardian. February 8, 2017.
[7] Monbiot, George. Our greatest peril? Screening ourselves off from reality. Guardian. February 28, 2017.
[8] Monbiot, George. Big data's power is terrifying. That could be good news for democracy. Guardian. March 6, 2017.
[9] Monbiot, George. Finally, a breakthrough alternative to growth economics – the doughnut. Guardian. April 12, 2017.
[10] Monbiot, George. Freeing up the rich to exploit the poor – that's what Trump and Brexit are about. Guardian. April 4, 2017.
[11] Monbiot, George. If ever there was a time to vote Labour, it is now. Guardian. April 25, 2017.
[12] Monbiot, George. Don't let psychopathic murderers suppress our common humanity. Guardian. May 23, 2017.
[13] Monbiot, George. Referendums get a bad press – but to fix Britain, we need more of them. Guardian. October 18, 2017.
[14] Monbiot, George. Brexiters, beware: if the ties that bind us unravel, tyranny may soon follow. Guardian. November 17, 2017.