The late English novelist and playwright William Golding might appear an unlikely starting point for understanding the multiple crises convulsing our world today. But acclaimed Indian writer Amitav Ghosh argues that childhood reading in the English-speaking world – including Golding’s Lord of the Flies – has something to answer for here. In recent years, Ghosh has emerged as one of the foremost anglophone voices writing about the climate crisis.
These treasured texts of English literature are part of a story of belligerent individualism that readers “imbibe” from an early age, Ghosh says. In recent years, Ghosh has emerged as one of the foremost anglophone voices writing about the climate crisis. <a href}}$ne.
In 2018, he became the first English-language writer to receive the Jnanpith Award, India’s highest literary honour. The following year, Foreign Policy magazine named him one of the most important global thinkers of the preceding decade. On November 28th, Ghosh is to deliver a lecture on one of his recent non-fiction works, The Nutmeg’s Curse (2021), coinciding with the launch of a new round of activity being set in motion by the Field Day Theatre Company.
The annual lecture is named after the late Seamus Deane, a driving intellectual force behind the original project. Along with Deane, actor Stephen Rea and the late playwright Brian Friel began Field Day in 1980 as an artistic and intellectual response to what seemed like intractable political crisis in the North, then gripped by the 30-year conflict now known as The Troubles.
This new round of work will examine more contemporary concerns: namely, accelerating climate breakdown and its roots in European colonialism, an intertwined history that Ghosh has long traced. Rea told The Irish Times that some of the themes explored in his colleague and cofounder’s most celebrated writing hold relevance for dispossessed communities at the front lines of the climate crisis today. “The issues we began to explore in Brian Friel’s Translations – territory, belonging, language and dispossession through renaming – are still current around the world for indigenous peoples,” he said.
“Amitav has made a singular contribution to our understanding of the ways in which issues such as climate justice are closely bound up with our histories of colonialism.”
Ghosh also sees clear crossover between Field Day’s work and his own. “Most of all, [in] questions of place,” he says. “How do we care for a place? How do we inhabit a place? And, equally, issues of humans and non-humans – how they interact with each other.
“How do we tell stories about this? About human and non-human interactions. That’s something I’ve been very concerned with and, in that sense, there’s an overlap with Field Day, I think.” The power of narrative is evidenced, Ghosh points out, in the developmental arc of man-made climate change itself.
But while one dominant story, in particular, has driven the crisis, stories also offer possible ways out.
“I think it’s very important to tell stories,” he says. “I mean, that’s partly because I’m a
What examples does Ghosh provide to demonstrate the link between “belligerent individualism” and the climate crisis?
## Interview with Amitav Ghosh: How “Lord of the Flies” Explains the World’s Crises
**Interviewer:** Amitav Ghosh, thank you for joining us today. You’ve made a compelling argument that classic English literature, including William Golding’s “Lord of the Flies,” shares responsibility for the crises we face today. Can you elaborate on that?
**Ghosh:** [1] It’s fascinating how deeply rooted certain narratives are in our collective psyche. Books like “Lord of the Flies,” while powerful, present a very particular view of humanity – one driven by belligerent individualism, where survival of the fittest reigns. This idea, absorbed by English-speaking readers from a young age, becomes almost subconscious,
shaping our understanding of the world and our place in it.
**Interviewer:**
How does this “belligerent individualism” connect to the climate crisis and other global challenges?
**Ghosh:** The same mindset that prioritizes individual gain over collective well-being is at the heart of our environmental crisis. We see it in the relentless pursuit of economic growth at the expense of the planet, in the refusal to adapt lifestyles for the common good.
**Interviewer:** Your recent work, “The Nutmeg’s Curse,” explores the interconnectedness of history, colonialism, and the climate crisis. Can you tell us a bit about that and how it relates to this idea?
**Ghosh:** “The Nutmeg’s Curse” delves into the historical roots of our current predicament. Colonialism, with its exploitative practices and insatiable thirst for resources, set in motion a chain of events that directly contributes to the climate crisis. Understanding this history is crucial to finding solutions.
**Interviewer:** You’ve been recognized as a leading voice on the climate crisis, receiving accolades like the Jnanpith Award and named
one of the most important global thinkers. What message do you want to leave our audience with today?
**Ghosh:** We need to move away from the narratives that have fueled our global crises. It’s time to embrace a more collaborative, compassionate worldview. Only then can we hope to address the climate crisis and build a sustainable future for all.
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