It is a campaign not for abundance but for austerity. It is a campaign not for more freedom but for less. Strangest of all, it is a campaign not just against other people, but against ourselves.
Interpretation
The quote emphasizes a campaign focused on self-restraint and moderation rather than excess and liberation.
George Monbiot's quote highlights a paradoxical movement that advocates for austerity rather than abundance, suggesting that true freedom may lie not in having more, but in embracing less. It challenges the notion that societal progress relies on external changes alone, pointing out that the most profound shifts must occur within ourselves as we combat our own desires and excesses.
In practice
During a speech about sustainable living, one might quote this to emphasize the importance of moderation.
The notions that nature exists to serve us; that its value consists of the instrumental benefits we can extract; that this value can be measured in cash terms; and that what can't be measured does not matter, have proved lethal to the rest of life on Earth.
I believe that anyone who wants to stand in a national election should receive a course of psychotherapy. Completing the course should be a qualification for office. This wouldn't change the behaviour of psychopaths, but it might prevent some people who exercise power from imposing their own deep wounds on others.
I became an environmentalist because I love the living world, but I spend much of my life thinking about electricity, industrial processes and civil engineering.
Places that have become agricultural deserts, trashed by giant corporations, could be reforested, drawing carbon dioxide from the air on a vast scale. The ecosystems of land and sea could recover, not just in pockets but across great tracts of the planet.
Never underestimate the power of intrinsic values. They inspire every struggle for a better world.
Why is it so easy to save the banks - but so hard to save the biosphere?
Loneliness and solitude are two different things. When you are lonely, it is easy to delude yourself into believing that you are on the right path. Solitude is better for us, as it means being alone without feeling lonely. But eventually it is best to find a person, the person who will be your mirror. Remember, only in another person's heart can you truly see yourself and the presence of God within you.
Culture is just a shambling zombie that repeats what it did in life; bits of it drop off, and it doesn't appear to notice.
There is only one basic human right: the right to do as you please, without causing others harm. With it comes our only basic human duty: the duty to accept the consequences of our actions.
The Catechism was not written to please you. It will not make life easy for you, because it demands of you a new life.
Why, what is pomp, rule, reign, but earth and dust? And, live we how we can, yet die we must.
We have decommissioned natural selection and must now look deep within ourselves and decide what we wish to become.
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