Dark Book Review – Revolution
By Russell Brand
Review Written By Casey Douglass
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| Image © Copyright Century |
I can remember when
Revolution was released. It seemed to split opinion quite
nicely, some people really liking the book, others poo-pooing it. I
had a hunch at the time that I might quite like it, long having had
feelings that our capitalistic “democracy” wasn't worth voting
in. Like all good little capitalists though, I waited for Revolution
to drop in price and come out in paperback before I gave it a go. I'm
glad I did.
Revolution puts
into wordy-words (sorry, couldn't resist) Russell's outlook on what
our world is coming to. I didn't fully get behind everything he said,
particularly the God and interconnectedness stuff but that is partly
due to my own lack of certainty when it comes to more intangible
matters. The stuff about corporations, capitalism and “democracy”
(you might be wondering why I keep doing bunny-ears around
“democracy”. You see! I did it again!) rang very true to me and
helped me shuffle around some of the old brain apparatus inside me
noggin to better order my thoughts on the matter. I also worryingly
seemed to have caught a bit of Old Russ' parlance too.
Early on in the book,
Russell explains why he chooses not to vote and details the abuse he
came in for when he said as much. I do vote but I am totally aware
that it isn't worth a jot. As Russell says, due to various influences, our democracy seems to be anything but,
the ruling party seemingly not there to serve the people any more but to
protect the economy and serve big business which is the main reason
we have an economy. He gives plenty of examples of how the current
landscape favours the mega corporations that seem to own pretty much
everything, and how some of the trade agreements we have are
stupendously wasteful when it comes to the environment and local
labour (workforce, not the political party).
He also takes time to
point out the ludicrous nature of the monarchy and I certainly agree
with him there. As long as England has a monarchy and an unelected
House of Lords, we will be stuck in the dark ages and roundly mocked
by all except the U.S, who we could probably sell our Royals to for a
tasty profit seeing as they buy all of that prince and princess crap.
It isn't all bitching
about class though, Russ goes on to describe what he thinks the much
needed revolution should be like, I.e. non-violent etc. and the
system that will replace what we have now, I.e. local power in local
hands, with government only there to do the admin and put the wishes
of the people into action. He also laces a string of comedy through
his writing that makes it all a bit less serious and more palatable, openly
nodding and winking at his own inability to sometimes put the things
he preaches into action.
Going back to when the
book was released, I remember some reviewers snooting that it was
badly written waffle. I disagree. Whether they objected to his views
and more esoteric ponderings and just found his writing style the
means to slam the book I have no idea. The most I can say against the
book is Russell does have a habit of starting a paragraph about
something and getting sidetracked for a little while before coming
back to the point he was making. I personally didn't mind this and if
anything, it could be argued that it helped keep me focused, I
couldn't just switch off or I'd find myself in some gag about him
wanking and have no context for it! Noooo!!!
If you have an interest
in how the wealth of the world ended up in the hands of a tiny
fraction of the population while the rest of us struggle, and why the
status quo is the status quo, pick up Revolution now and have
a read. It's not po-faced like some of the deadly serious books on
the matter and I think it will make you chuckle. Do I like it because
it polished my own reflections about the state of the world?
Possibly. Do I think even Russell's Revolution will change anything?
No. I am too cynical about the ability of people to not screw each
other over. Will I stop asking myself questions and just end the
review? Yes.
I give Revolution 4/5.
