The new political story that could change everything | George Monbiot 

“Despair is a failure of imagination.” Spot on

the new story isn't profitable to the tellers of the old story

I loved this, before seeing this I told someone the outline for the story to bring us all together is already there , we just need the courage to tell it. Resonate with deep needs and desires - grounded in reality, I love this guy!

An amazing message, really well presented! You, sir, gave me back hope, after a decade of depression and anxiety. You made me cry, you gave me back hope for mankind and you restored my sense of purpose as a human being. I am not exaggerating. You've given us a lot to consider, in a much needed humorous way. Thank you sooo very much!!

the easiest, simplest conclusion to come to, is that we are doomed. When faced with truly existential crisis, we simply carried on the old narratives of competition and division. But because there is no second act on this one, we have to do better. Our rulers are not up to the job, our media is mostly in their thrall. People like George Monbiot give me hope.

Props to this guy for keeping his energy up the whole time!

Great talk. His book is great, too: HOW DID WE GET INTO THIS MESS? Glad he's taking his story public.

I believe this truth, we need a new story. Living in this pyramid system for way to long and we all see again and again. When I think about the movement in the sixties, it seemed like a false reality, (I say that because many of them are now the psychopaths). Their is way too much selfishness and greed. We are at another important juncture where people are waking up to the deception, let's hope we can do right by all this time. Thank you for the upload

The commons of Humanity, is the story of Sharing .

This speech far from a like deserves an admired appreciation and hope it doesn’t stay in a momentous inspiration for mankind, but rather a kick start for general action! 🙌🏼

Bravo! Thank You SO much George Monbiot, for helping us to consider the old story needs replaced by a new one ... I agree it does. Your brief version of a new story is a place to start. Your are totally correct that we need to speak the truth about what has happened and what is happening in order to tell the story correctly and to resolve problems ... And we need to keep working at resolving the problems UNTIL they are resolved. My, "new story," In the past people survived by exploiting and cheating those who could be exploited and cheated. Only those willing to exploit and cheat could rise above the barely surviving situation that was most peoples life. Those that were being exploited and cheated, even if they knew they were, were offered enough to make it seem an acceptable way to live. Eventually, those who were exploited and cheated noticed the pattern that made living extremely unequal for most and that trend was causing many people to feel that only people with money had power and that the people being exploited and cheated had relatively little, had to work longer and had no seat at the table or voice in important actions ... this was left to exploiters and cheats and those who worked within their realm who did get more than most but even they could rarely rise up into the realms of those who came from the truly wealthy (OLD money). THEN, one day, everyone started realizing The Truth could be told and those who worked for the exploiters and cheats could stop working for them and start working for the betterment of All. They realized We All needed to stop making anything that could cause us harm ... and that Our focus needed to shift from thinking about "better" ways to kill those who did not agree and instead learn how to get along. We begin to understand that we are all in this together and together we can create a world that Respects All Life. Love & Peace to All

The Politics of Belonging ...a new mythology for the 21st Century. Brilliant ...compelling

Down with the oligarchy. Down with the two party system.

I have known this for a long time, The rabbit hole of deception goes very deep into our human history. I used to get depressed when thinking of the future - then I got some good news after watching a video on RU-vid. The RU-vid video was called "One Small Town" (can change the world). It contains a plan for small town communities to transition out of the banking system. Best wishes to all.

Simply brilliant. People need to believe in something, and a story is a great way as we can see.

That is the best speech describing the human condition I have ever heard. Gives me hope. A true leader whom I would vote for. 👍

#Yanggang #andrewyang is telling exactly this story - the reason of his succes too. #Yang2020

A much needed message, thank you sir!

Based on some in-depth polls, including in the USA, I think a critical mass of people share the model and values summarized by Monbiot here, BUT our mass media, with hired demagogues, are excessively neoliberal; practically religious neoliberalism. Our universities also, across the world, teach classical/neoclassic/neoliberal economics ; again they are taught like those theories are unmovable divine pillars of reality. Therefore, while most people see we need a more reasonable and democratic version of our current extreme capitalism, the dominant discourse insist the story not be changed at all. There is a disconnect between mass (commercial) media, even political science in universities, and common sense or popular wisdom. This is changing (not so much in the USA), but I am not very optimistic I admit.

Thank you so much !! That's what I'm talking about ! Glad to see someone else say it too !!!!

Joe Rogan appears: Yes but have you ever tried DMT?

As a Yang supporter, I resonate with this video

Andrew Yang is THAT new story. 🌟📚🌟 #Yang2020 🇺🇸 🦅 🇺🇸

Political you say? Me: Takes popcorn and watches the comment section.

Am I the only one relating this to ANDREW YANG's stories? Not right, not left, but forward. No matter it's the UBI or climate change plan, he kills it. He should be the one brings us THE NEW STORY where humanity comes the first.

I'm going to take a subscription out to Double Down News today. Well said. Love the bit in the end that celebrates our humanity.

*We are a society of altruists, but we're governed by psychopaths* Get involved, vote locally, vote every time & encourage your neighbors to do the same!

People who are lucky enough to be doing okay still think everybody else either is, or can too, if they'd only just do what they did; confirmation bias. Sorry, but things are not going well for a significant number of people... and we need this kind of narrative, and a change in direction to get the boot of competition off of people's necks. We need our neighbors free and upright, to stand with us, so that we can cope with what's coming.

You’re so right George. I was feeling despair following the election result last week. I hate the idea of competing with our fellow men. A society of altruists governed by psychopaths. Spot on.

Man I hope he is right, I doubt I will see it in my lifetime. Those with the most power will not be giving up this fight.

super ! in my opinion democracy needs culture and good quality school... I think that my students are going to learn this speech by heart... THANK YOU SO MUCH !!

All of these ideas are wonderful. As usual, George offers only ideas and no pathways to this situation. LIttle less talk and a huge amount of action needed.

This guy does a good job of synthesizing what is happening today. The raising of Ayn Rand’s objectivism to the level of doctrine has been a mistake and it could lead to our extinction. Altruism will save the planet and our species.

Thank you for this. This TED talk should be broadcast on the building at Westminster known as the Houses of Parliament (the building is crumbling l think) Can we do it? Long live George Monbiot!

Ted talks are so addicting!!!!

Utterly inspirational! I’m in!

To those who found this talk interesting, you may find the societal design specification published for free by the auravana project very interesting and addative (or just complementary), as it specifies and explains more fully a community-type socity.

Elinor Ostrom, 1990, Governing the Commons. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for this in 2009. It was a work which disturbed many of today's modern "liberals." My takeaway from it is that there is a difference between GOVERNMENT and GOVERNANCE. It's a subtle difference-- but her studies demonstrate how we can be self governed without kings or presidents or legislators or --- politicians. All any of these sociopaths achieve is their own power and their own preservation by sending our sons to fight wars that benefit only the elite-- whether that elite is Krupp Steel or Alexander the Great or Pol Pot makes no substantive difference. What we "normals" want is GOVERNANCE. We can do without GOVERNMENT. I am happy to have stumbled into this. I'll listen to more from Mr. Monbiot before I decide if he is really on the right path.

Good to see Monbiot on TED! He needs more attention.

The difference between bonding communities and bridging communities is important. We need to look after those who get left behind, or won't or can't participate for whatever reason. Often when groups are formed to work for some sort of social good, they tend to comprise the most privileged members of a society, and often benefit those same privileged people. We need to include everyone, and work to benefit everyone. Like the concept of belonging, the tendency to exclude crosses political lines, and we need to find a way of overcoming it.

Fantastic Ted Talk. Thank you for the gift!

Great speech. Needs to viral.

You are awesome...

George is such an energetic dude. Loved this.

China: Hold my beer. I mean my story,

Everyone claps when George is talking in general how to fix the issues. Almost no one claps when he tells us we need to stop fossil fuels and especially no one claps when he says we need to stop animal farming.

Amazing how many people in the comments are just adding further proof to the talk. People utterly consumed by identity politics.

thanks , I really needed to hear the new story ,sounds like the green new deal !

The word story means picture; and every picture tells a story. And, every story draws a picture.

GM 4 PM!!!! Please help us save ourselves from ourselves, George!

So when this eventually fails, and we get the opposite, will that mean fascism will return?

Capitalism is not people at odds with each other. It is people fulfilling each other’s needs! The very first thing a business owner must do to start a business, is figure out what others want and need. Then to be successful, he must fulfill that need better than others or fail. The system described by you is communism, or command economics. There are only two kinds of economic systems. Free market or command. That is by choice, or by force. There are no other kinds of economic systems. Cooperation, falls under freedom and free markets. Even though you don’t realize it, the system you describe requires force and is command economics. How do I know this? Because I’ll ask you one simple question. What if I don’t follow your rules and decide I just want my own business for myself? Your answer must be- - you will point a gun at me and force me to follow your rules. Otherwise why would I not do exactly what I want and start my own business for myself? You will never describe your model in detail because you can never answer the question I posed without saying you will be willing to have “the state” point a gun at me. Sure you won’t call it “the state” You’ll call it community organizers. But without a state to force those who desire to work for themselves and be free to act only on their own behalf’s to comply, your system cannot work. So you are describing a command economic system and never resolve the issues every communist before you hasn’t. Your just describing the same thing with wishy washy adjectives

Thanks George, you’re a voice of sanity in an insane world. Nice to see you being a little more light hearted, your columns can sometimes be a little negative...

Great speech!

I'm thinking how Detroit and Chicago turned out when they exercised their fundamental capacity for altruism and cooperation and the joint ownership of lands and production. This brings me to the latest thoughts of insects and humans as food ... for humans. The ultimate altruism and cooperation.

Why on Earth has this not gone viral?!! “Strange answers to the psychopath test” has 16M views 😢

Problem - Reaction - Solution

Simply fantastic...

This reminds me of the ANDREW YANG. He is the only one telling the new political story, having the vision for the future and well thought out solution for the present. He wants to keep HUMANITY FIRST by proposing Human centred capitalism. Changing the incentives such that capitalism works for humans and addressing climate change.

You sir... Are a GENIUS!

I LOVE how tons of conservatives who believe in laissez-faire capitalism think this video isn't referring to them because "neoliberalism" has "liberal" in it...

The new economic story needs to prioritize restoring ecosystems, instead of destroying them.

*i think I'd be a wonderful politician but an even better dictator* 💪😓

Brilliant. Extremely important.

Three cheers we need a new story

The problem is that the new story isn't the old story but it is an old story. The best solution for the problems we face was actually written over 200 years ago. It's called the US Constitution. When strictly enforced it allows the people to prosper. Allows people to take responsibility for their own situation and enjoy the fruits of their work. Yes, some will have more than others. But if that's the way you see it you're looking at it wrong. Once you've got clothing on your back food in your mouth and a roof over your head, everything else is relative. And there's a certain amount of satisfaction a human being gets out of knowing that he enjoys all of those things because of his own work.

I think this guy is #andrewyang 's brother from another mother. #humancenteredcapitalism #humanityfirst #yanggang2020

This guy has insights into the corruption on another level. More people should be listening to him.

Bravo, Excellent!!!

Dear Algorithm, please deliver this story to more people. Thanks!

If there's a new way... I'll be the first in line... But it better work this time!

Excellent idea!

Actually he's got some points. Why do we need national government to do most of what they current do? The best government is local government. The more local, the more representative. Far easier to go to our courthouse than to Washington DC (in USA). Iowa doesn't need to be California (and California doesn't need to be Iowa).

Go George!

George Monbiot is very a nice bloke. He’s a very intelligent and thoroughly decent man and no one with a heart could dislike him. But, as Tommy Cooper might say, from here on in, my comments go down-hill. I certainly agree with George’s final theme that more needs to be done to encourage human beings to engage with one another at a local level. Most people, in my experience, are much more talented than they think they are. Perhaps, in the past, particularly before the mass media, people didn’t have to compare themselves with the ‘super gifted’ from around the world and those with celebrity status. In reality, amazing people can be found in every street, in every town and in every country across the planet. (The converse is also true, of course. A lot of the supposedly super gifted are not as talented as they think they are, but that’s another ‘story’). So, I believe that George is right to finally home in on the importance of community, local democracy, participation and engagement. But what a meal he makes of the journey! To listen to George, one might conclude that everything is totally torn asunder in the world. George’s description of where we are all now is naive and exaggerated. We are not ruled by psychopaths. That’s silly, and it’s important to realise that despite all the dreadful things that are going on in the world, life is gradually, albiet painfully slowly, getting better. Steven Pinker, in his book ‘The better angels of our nature’, charts that gradual improvement in considerable and, for me, convincing detail. In my view, the problem of world governance can only be properly understood if it’s viewed from a ‘power perspective’. I use the word ‘power’ in the limited sense of ‘the ability to get other people to do things that they don’t want to do and to prevent other people from doing things that they do want to do’. Both of these things can be achieved in many ways. Physical force is the ultimate one but the powerful can and do use other more sophisticated methods. A familiar one is misleading people and lying. Another is presenting arguments which seem convincing but are, in reality, bogus. The most powerful means, however, is the use of ideology, whether it’s religious, political or tribal and it is ideology that George is seeking to conflate with ‘a story’. I agree with George that stories play a vital part in human discourse. We see stories everywhere. From our primitive beginnings, once we had language to convey our thoughts and ideas to one another, men and women would conjure stories in order to try and make sense of the world around them. We dream in stories, (mine usually revolve around forgetting where I parked my car and wondering how I might get home again, although I can probably put that down to digestion). Novelists build stories to explore human behaviour and character. Politicians use and sometimes invent stories to promote their particular view of the world and their perspective on how society should operate. Even scientists use stories when they conjecture about what they see. They construct, by means if induction, a story that explains what they observe. They then see where the story takes them, by means of deduction, in the hope of stumbling upon the odd prediction that can be tested. Stories are a vital part of us but, sadly, they don’t always end in harmony or restoration. Harmony is a nice fluffy make-belief sort of word bathed in happiness and peacefulness. In real-life, stories are far more likely to end in temporary equilibrium and it is the concept of equilibrium that we need to use if we are to generate ideas that make the human world a better place. George describes how people are fundamentally altruistic and decent and that evolution has made them that way. But his assertion contains a fatal flaw. Evolution doesn’t care about whether people are altruistic. It’s certainly true that, in general terms, natural selection might favour certain traits within human beings that encourage cooperation and empathy. But evolution is really about the survival of genetic information and the biological world is really a battlefield. You won’t find much ‘harmony’ in nature. What you will find is ‘equilibrium’ and that’s a very different thing. Human life, the planet on which we live and the universe, through which we travel, are all battle fields. Any equilibrium that emerges will be the result of huge conflicting forces balancing each other out. It’s the same in human relationships and in the forming of groups, organisations, societies and the nation states that exist around the globe. George is good to listen to and he’s very entertaining. But his story is not going to change the world. I think that’ll do for now.

Amazing 😃😃

I experience what you are saying every day...

The answer, my friend, is not to lable our current dilemma as the result of neo-liberalism, but to sufficiently pause our preset analytical processes in order to see our situation exactly as it is. Sadly, there can be no evolution of our consciousness when we base all our assumptions on the misconceptions of the past where all your struggles for a new narrative are nothing more than the reshaping of the old. This approach is nothing more than the re-crystalization of our ignorance.

Hello. I'm 6 and you are my hero. people only think about making money. This is my nature conservation channel, inspired by you. and Greta and David Attenborough

#HumanityFirst story is the new restoration story. #Yang2020

Why isn't this more mainstream?

Unfortunately both sides think their answer aligns with this too vague narrative.

In my old age, I am discovering that the rock musicians of my generation, not only got all of the girls, they may well have been more sage philosophers than Kant, Hegel, Locke, Hayek, Aristotle or Plato. I do not recommend adopting life philosophies from the lyrics to rock music, but now that I have listened to more of Mr. Monbiot on RU-vid, I think The Who in their 1971 album, “Who’s Next,” with the track “Won’t Get Fooled Again,” is all you need to know about about Monbiot and his narratives story. Change “narrative” to “messiah,” and label the new narrative/messiah “envirofascism,” and you can see his agenda.Daltrey and Townsend say it best:“I'll tip my hat to the new constitution...Take a bow for the new revolution Pick up my guitar and play Just like yesterday Then I'll get on my knees and pray We don't get fooled again The change, it had to come We knew it all along We were liberated from the fold, that's all And the world looks just the same And history ain't changed 'Cause the banners, they are flown in the last war And a parting on the left Is now a parting on the right And the beards have all grown longer overnight Meet the new boss Same as the old boss”No thanks Mr. Monbiot. We want no bosses.

Our story is now how we formulate our future Belief in music with technologically enhancement, allows miraculous global events, as we Groove as One!!!

Brilliantly logical, achievable and essential strategy .... Cohesion without adhesian !!

Yes

Any opinions with the great block of knowledge can be a finest" Voice", but the opinion without a block of knowledge that is a " Propaganda" Amazing! George always with great and clear of knowledge lit up the solution. " Bridging Networks" = " Bridging community" I have visited one it, the fine aspirational community in Leeds. It is leading by Pro. Paul Chatterton, " Unlocking Sustainable Cities" And it does, he proved his idea = George's Bridging Community that succeed in there in reality. Therefore, amazing George is not just a journalist he is a true and exquisite scholar, indeed. Thank you. The book, Out of the wreckage.

I think every word he said is plain truth, a shared narrative if I may so say :P Even the part that we (worldwide) are too often led by sociopaths and psychopaths (NO, though, I am not saying all politicians: I know many are not at all, but overall there is a sociopathic tendency in State decisions and it is getting worse). The lack of alternative ideology (yoops, story) is clearly lacking. Any mention of social policy is labeled socialist (red scare) and any criticism of capitalism triggers defensive reactions: we are *too binary* in our thinking. The classical story is good versus bad, but our reality is too complicated or our economies too integrated for those good old stories. Monbiot's compromise is what many have been proposing for a long time, basically focused on sincere and mature democracy. A good number of people are trying to build such cooperative and responsible economics now, but not on a State level. I strongly believe a better democracy is a solution (and also listening to our scientists much much more), but I do not know if Humans can do it... To be followed.

A strong, wonderful and Common Sense presentation, this! It is so Good to see these sorts of Ideas about Us and Cooperation emerge here in "You Tube". Thank you, very much, George Monbiot, for sharing these Truths of Yours with Us. You and Your Energy, have lifted me Up with Hope this day. Uh...is there a written transcript of this presentation? I would study such...and share it when ever I could.

Brilliant 😍✌

speech like this can be accepted after great suffering!

15:16 We are governed by psychopaths 👍. Me and other targeted individuals are living examples.

I believe this where the New story will begin from. PEOPLE.

*"Political failure is at heart, a failure of imagination."*

I think he did a great job explaining the problematic situation we're in, but I'm not entirely convinced of his solution, I guess it's a bit too vague to me..

I Understand his New Story.

a brilliantly told story.

Excellent and so inspirational !!!

I'll admit this TED talk didn't really wow me that much but the speaker is right when he says there are fundamental elements to stories that resonate with people on a deeply human level. They are tools that good and bad leaders can use. You have to dig into the deeper message of the details in those leaders stories. His final story didn't really vibe with me, it sounded okay, but not specific enough. But it did remind me of Andrew Yangs story. We have reached a turning point in our society where we have the chance to protect ourselves from some terrifying problems facing us. If we act now we can heal our political divisions before we reach a dangerous tipping point, we can provide meaningful safety nets to our people and economy before the job shift wrecks millions of lives, we can put the breaks on carbon emissions before most of our cities are underwater. It's not about socialism or capitalism. It's humanity first and data driven solutions. We all can see there's a cliff ahead. And things have been getting worse for many of us already. So let's try to change direction, stop hurting each other and work together so that we all have a baseline that starts above zero. Give those who don't have much to work with a little more wiggle room and we'll be amazed at how much more we can collectively do. Yang's story is the 21st century restoration story.

#yanggang2020