Type and hit ENTER

Commonly used tags...

Brighton Festival Brighton Fringe Brighton Pride British Sea Power Cinecity Lewes Psychedelic Festival Locally Sourced Lost & Found Love Supreme Festival Mutations Festival Nick Cave Poets Vs MCs Politics Rag'n'Bone Man Record Store Day Save Our Venues Six Of The Best Source Virgins Streets Of Brighton Street Source Tattoos The Great Escape Tru Thoughts Unsung Heroes
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Advertise
  • Home
  • News
  • Previews
  • Reviews
  • Features
  • Food
  • Tickets
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Contribute
    • Advertise
Andrew Simms | Cancel The Apocalypse | Brighton Festival
Andrew Simms | Cancel The Apocalypse | Brighton Festival
Reviews

Cancel The Apocalypse Review

May 28, 2013
-
Posted by Ben Bailey

“What a lovely evening,” says Andrew Simms, opening a talk about his latest book, Cancel The Apocalypse. “If you knew how much time you had left, you wouldn’t be wasting it on something like this.”

Starting as he means to go on, the author’s genial manner remains at odds with his distressing message on climate change. We are “living beyond the threshold of tolerance of the biosphere,” he states. More importantly, we are fast approaching the point of no return. Simms believes this will happen within a time period roughly equal to the length of a government’s term in office. And, he says, that’s a conservative estimate (not that you’ll find many Conservatives who agree with the forecast). So, like Bowie says, we’ve got five years.

Andrew Simms is an author and fellow at the New Economics Foundation, a London think-tank which focuses on “Economics as if people and the planet mattered.” He’s also an advocate for the Green Party. When he mentions that Caroline Lucas is his daughter’s godmother, her name gets a cheer. He might be preaching to the converted but the banner of Brighton Festival has at least drawn in a cross-section wider than most activist meetings. Besides, you don’t need to be equivocal about green politics to be startled by his matter-of-fact remark that “we are living through a mass extinction event”.

Taking his cue from the football press, Simms indulges in a spot of ‘fantasy economics’ outlining what his ideal society would look like. The various achievements of ‘Goodland’ include a four-day working week, progressive taxation, a decarbonised economy and a mutually-owned banking structure which punishes irresponsible investors instead of awarding them bonuses. All of which would be overseen by a people’s president who lives in voluntary simplicity. “Hopelessly, hopelessly utopian,” he concludes. “Or is it?”

Flipping the thought experiment on its head, Simms points out that all of these supposedly fantastical ideas have been proven to work because they already exist in reality. It’s here that Simms really gets into his stride as he provides examples from around the world of countries that have already taken on some of Goodland’s founding principles. We hear about a real-life citizen’s constitution (Iceland), a four-day week (Netherlands), banking reforms (Iceland again), progressive taxation (Denmark) plus plans to go 100% renewable in Nicaragua and islands like Samsø, Gotland and the Maldives. Best of all, we learn that the president of Uruguay gives away 90% of his pay to charity simply because he refuses to earn more than the national average. Suddenly those ideas don’t sound so hopeless.

Simms follows this up by making the point that a demand for the abolition of slavery and votes for women would have seemed just as utopian 200 years ago.

With his Green Party connections and his “friends at the Guardian” Simms in many ways represents the archetypical bleeding-heart liberal so reviled by the right-wing. Yet he demonstrates tonight that the Tory mantra of ‘there is no alternative’ is plainly false. Even if his some of his examples seem a little stretched, the idea that we need to hold onto a sense of utopia can’t be disputed. In light of the pressure to come up with an alternative to the apocalypse, this timely and engaging talk was anything but a wasted evening.

Dome Studio Theatre, Tuesday 21st May 2013
Words by Ben Bailey

Brighton Festival
Politics
May 28, 2013
Email
Ben Bailey
Ben Bailey is the editor of Brighton Source and a freelance writer. He also plays in a few bands and can sometimes be found giving talks on a variety of niche topics. He lives in Brighton and rather likes it.
← PREVIOUS POST
Great Escape 2013 Photo Review
NEXT POST →
The Great Escape 2013 Review (Sat)
Mailing List

Recent Posts
  • Inspector Morse: House of Ghosts Review
    Oct 21, 2025

    Expectations are high with a new Inspector Morse story on stage, sadly this is more a ghost of a Morse story, although die hard fans might enjoy it for the nostalgia.

  • The Lovely Eggs Interview
    Oct 15, 2025

    The Lovely Eggs tell us about their 20th anniversary, the new album and tour with Polite Bureax and some comedy legends supporting.

  • Ocean Film Festival Review 2025
    Oct 11, 2025

    A selection of beautifully shot short films covering diverse ocean lovers' passion for interacting with the sea.

  • Fractured Album Launch, Saturday 20th December
    Oct 10, 2025

    Fractured celebrate the release of their new album supported by Amelia And The Housewives.

  • 2:22 A Ghost Story Review
    Oct 7, 2025

    An evening of two couples having dinner together has never before been so gripping and enthralling, filled with tension, with the ultimate question: is their new house haunted or not?

  • Richard Hawley Review
    Oct 5, 2025

    As Coles Corner turns 20, Richard Hawley dazzled and delighted an up-for-it Worthing crowd with a 2 hour-plus set.

  • Brighton Psych Fest 2025 Review
    Sep 26, 2025

    The second Brighton Psych Fest was a beauty as we got down with Getdown Services as the evening sunlight glowed through the Concorde Stained Glass.

  • David Devant & His Spirit Wife, Friday 12th December
    Sep 23, 2025

    One of Brighton's greatest live bands returns for a pre-Xmas homecoming party.

Website developed in Brighton by Infobo
Copyright © Brighton Source 2009-2023
Cancel The Apocalypse Review - Brighton Source