Today’s political culture seems obsessed with dark, apocalyptic visions. From young people staging ‘die-ins’ to protest about the environment to talk of an ‘insect apocalypse’, fears and threats loom large. Activists from Extinction Rebellion argue the threat of catastrophe means it is imperative to reject growth and progress in favour of a new eco-austerity. As WORLDwrite has always pointed out, this is a disaster for our peers in the developing world. In this inspiring and revealing debate, refreshingly, defenders of humanity, global equality, progress and freedom take on the eco-doom mongers.
This debate was filmed at the Battle of Ideas at the Barbican in November 2019 by WORLDwrite-WORLDbytes volunteers. The speakers are:
Brendan O’Neill editor, spiked; host, The Brendan O’Neill Show; writer, the Sun and the Spectator; author, A Duty to Offend
Dr Shahrar Ali home affairs spokesperson and former deputy leader, Green Party; author, Why Vote Green 2015
Gregory Claeys professor of history, Royal Holloway, University of London; author, Searching for Utopia: the history of an idea; fellow, Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and Commerce
Dr Ashley Frawley senior lecturer in sociology and social policy, Swansea University; author, Significant Emotions and Semiotics of Happiness
