More Lennon than Lenin
ing of the proles. There’s cheering from the streets: people are saying he has captured their hatred of government, of being poor, of the capitalist system. “We are constantly being told that what we have is the best kind of reality,” Brand says. “I don’t believe that. People have a real appetite for change. They want to look at the world differently despite the stringent efforts to control awareness.”
The new activism doesn’t seem like a passing fancy for Brand. It’s his life’s work — since he came off the drugs, alcohol, sex and Katy Perry. He has put a lot of effort and research into his book — speaking to a slew of professionals from climate change experts to economists. “But writing the physical book only took about three months. I wrote 3 000 words a day.” Why a book instead of a TV special? “Writing helps me consolidate my thought processes — and it was educational as well.”
One tenet of Brand’s school is “killing a corporation”. Fighting words indeed, but Brand says that his revolution is nonviolent. Killing a corporation is “killing the gods that we now worship”.
“The material gods like corporations. Non-violence is a non-negotiable part of this revolution.”
He’s under fire for plenty of other stuff he writes in Revolution, too. There was mass outrage with his “joke” suggesting that the royal family should be beheaded. “I note that if that baby royal they’ve just done in Blighty were to ascend the throne he’d be George VII. Seventh?! We’ve already had six and we’re gonna have another one. How long do we intend to let this silliness persist? Surely it’s time for us to invest in a Fisher Price guillotine.” Eeek.
Brand professes to believe in God — but not the Christian one. “It’s not like I believe in a figurative God. I believe in an absolute consciousness, a sublime energy behind all gross material energy.” He suggests that his atheist fans who have a problem with his beliefs read up on Robert Lanza talking about the nature of consciousness. “If you believe that there are invisible connections between human beings, invisible connections that we must honour, then there is a strong incentive to live in a just and fair world.”
His ideas are not My Booky Wook 3 material, but there’s hope for those who want the comedian to return to the funny business. A new show might be one in the works, he says. But for the meantime the revolutionary is just going to continue “talking to people, [being] a friend to the people who need a friend”. Bless.