NEWSNIGHT - Paxman vs Brand. Full Interview.

Newsnight's Jeremy Paxman talks to Russell Brand about voting, revolution and beards...

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captions by the Radical Access Mapping Project
http://radicalaccessiblecommunities.wordpress.com/subtitled-videos/

[J] Russell Brand who are you
to edit a political magazine?

[R] Well, I suppose like a person who's been
politely asked by attractive woman.

I don't know what the typical criteria is,

I don't know many people that edit political magazines.

Boris, he used to do on, didn't he?

So I'm a person with crazy hair
quite good sense of humor,

don't know much about politics,
I'm ideal!

[J] But is it true you don't even vote?

[R] Yeah. No, I don't vote.

[J] Well how do you have any authority
to talk about politics then?

[R] Well I don't get my authority from this
pre-existing paradigm which is quite narrow

and only serves a few people.

I look elsewhere for alternatives that might be of service to humanity.

Alternate means, alternate political systems.

[J] They being?

[R] Well I've not invented it yet Jeremy!

I had to do a magazine last week,
I've had a lot on me plate!

But, I say, here's the thing that it shouldn't do:

shouldn't destroy the planet,

shouldn't create massive economic disparity,

shouldn't ignore the needs of the people.

The burden of proof is on the people with the power
not people like doing a magazine

[J] How do you imagine the people get power?

[R] Well I imagine there are sort of hierarchical systems that have been preserved for generations...

[J] They get power by being voted in...

You won't even be asked to vote.

[R] That's quite a narrow
quite narrow prescriptive parameter

that changes within the...

[J] In a democracy, that's how it works.

[R] Well I don't think it's working very well Jeremy,
given that the planet is being destroyed,

given there's economic disparity of a huge degree.

What you're saying there is no alternative?
There is no alternative?

[J] No I'm not saying that. I'm saying that
if you cant be asked to vote,

why should we be asked to listen
to your political point of view?

[R] You don't have to listen to my
political point of view,

but it's not that I'm not-voting out of apathy,

I'm not-voting out of absolute indifference, and weariness, and exhaustion,

from the lies, treachery, deceit of the political class,

that has been going on for generations now,

and which has now reached fever pitch

where we have a disenfranchised, disillusioned, despondent underclass,

that are not being represented
by that political system.

So voting for it is tacit complicity with that system;

that's not something I'm offering up.

[J] Well why don't you change it then?

[R] I'm trying to!

[J] Well why don't you start by voting?

[J laughing] I don't think it works!
People have voted already,

and that's what created the current paradigm.

[J] When did you last vote?

[R] Never.

[J] You've never ever voted?

[R] No, do you think that's really bad?

[J] So you struck an attitude, what,
before the age of 18?

[R] Well i was busy being a drug addict at that point,

because I come from the kind of social conditions
that are exacerbated

by an indifferent system that really just administrates for large corporations

and ignores the population that it was voted in to serve.

[J] You're blaming the political class for the fact
that you had a drug problem?

[R] No no no. I'm saying I was part of the social and economic class

that is underserved by the current political system,

and drug addiction's one of the problems it creates.

When you have huge underserved impoverished populations, people get drug problems,

and also don't feel like they want to engage
with the current political system

because they see that it doesn't work for them,

they see that it makes no difference,
they see that they're not served.

[J] Of course it doesn't work for them
if they don't bother to vote!

[R] Jeremy my darling, I'm not saying...
The apathy doesn't come from us the people,

the apathy comes from the politicians
they are apathetic to our needs.

They're only interested in servicing
the needs of corporations.

Look at what... ain't the Tories going to court, to take the EU to court because they're trying to curtail bank bonuses?

Is that what's happening at the moment
in our country?

It is, innit?

So why am i gonna tune in for that?

[J] You don't believe in democracy,
you want a revolution, don't you?

[R] The planet is being destroyed,
we are creating an underclass,

we are exploiting poor people all over the world

and the genuine legitimate problems of the people
are not being addressed by our political class.

[J] All of those things may be true...

[R] They are true!

[J] But you took... i wouldn't argue with you about many of them...

[R] Well 'ow come I feel so cross with you?

It can't be because of that beard, it's gorgeous!

and if the Daily Mail don't want it, I do!

I'm against them! Grow it longer!
Tangle it into your armpit hair!

[J] You are a very trivial man.

[R] Oh, do you think I'm trivial?

[J] Yes!

[R] A minute ago you were avin' a go at me because I want a revolution, now I'm trivial!

I'm bouncin' about all over the place!

[J] I'm not having a go at you because you want a revolution, many people want a revolution,

but I'm asking you what it will be like?

[R] Well I think what it won't be like is

a huge disparity between rich and poor

where 300 Americans have the same amount of wealth as the 85 million poorest americans

where there is a an exploited and underserved underclass that have been continually ignored,

where welfare is slashed while Cameron and Osborne go to court

to defend the rights of bankers to continue receiving their bonuses, that's all i'm saying.

[J] What's the scheme? That's all i'm asking, what's the scheme?

You talked vaguely about revolution, what is it?

[R] I think a socialist egalitarian system based on the massive redistribution of wealth,

heavy taxation of corporations and massive responsibility for energy companies

and any companies exploiting the environment,

I think they should be tax...

I think the very concept of profit
should be hugely reduced.

David Cameron says profit isn't a dirty word,
I say profit is a filthy word

because wherever there is profit
there is also a deficit,

and this system currently
doesn't address these ideas.

and so why would anyone vote for it?
Why would anyone be interested?

[J] Who would levy these taxes?

[R] I think we do need like... there needs to be a centralized administrative system...

[J] A government?

[R] Well maybe call it something else, call it like
the AdminBots so they don't get ahead of themselves...

[J] How would they be chosen?

[R] Jeremy, don't ask me to sit here in an interview with you in a bloody hotel room,

and devise a global utopian system.

I'm merely pointing out that the current...

[J] You are calling for revolution!

[R] Yeah! Absolutely! I'm calling for change,
I'm calling for genuine alternatives.

[J] There are many people
who would agree with you...

[R] Good!

[J] The current system is not engaging with all sorts of problems, yes,

and they feel apathetic, really apathetic,

but if they were to take you seriously and not to vote...

[R] Yeah they shouldn't vote, that's one thing they should do: don't bother voting

because when it reaches... there's a point...

you see these little valves, these sort of like cozy little valves of recycling and Prius and like,

turn ups somewhere... it stops us reaching the pit point where we think this is enough now,

stop voting, stop pretending, wake up!
Be in reality now.

Time to be in reality now. Why vote? We know it isn't going to make any difference, we know that already.

So you know I have more impact out West Ham United, cheering them on,

and they lost the city, unnecessarily, sad.

[J] Now you're being facetious.

[R] Well, facetiousness has as much value
as seriousness.

I think you're making the mistake
of mistaking seriousness for solemnity.

[J] We're not going to solve world problems
by facetiousness.

[R] We're not going to solve them with the current system! At least facetiousness is funny.

[J] Sometimes.

[R] Yes, sometimes Jeremy.

So listen, so let's approach this optimistically.

You've spent your whole career berating and haranguing politicians,

and then when someone like me, a comedian, goes "yeah they're all worthless,

what's the point in engaging with any of them?"

you sort of have a go at me
because I'm not poor anymore.

[J] I'm not having a go at you about that.

I'm just asking why would you take you seriously when you're so unspecific ...

[R] ...weII firstly I don't mind if you take me seriously.

I'm here just to draw attention to a few ideas I just wanna have a little bit of a laugh.

I'm saying there are people with alternative ideas that are far better qualified than i am,

and far better qualified more importantly

than the people that currently doing that job

because they're not attempting to solve
these problems, they're not.

They're attempting to placate the population.

Their measures that are currently being taken around climate change are indifferent,

will not solve the problems.

[J] It's possible as human beings they're simply overwhelmed by the scale of the problem.

[R] Not really, well, possibly it might be that, I mean but that's just semantics really,

whether they're overwhelmed by it or tacitly maintaining it because it's habitual...

I mean like, mate, this is what I noticed
when I was in that house of parliament:

It's decorated exactly the same as Eton,
It's decorated exactly the same as Oxford,

so certain type people goes in there and thinks
"oh! this makes me nervous!"

and another type of people go in there go
"this is how it should be!"

and I think that's gotta change now.

We can no longer have erroneous duplicitous systems held in place

unless it's only systems that serve the planet and serve the population of the planet,

can be allowed to survive.

Not ones that serve elites, be they political or corporate elites.

And this is what's currently happening.

[J] You don't really believe that.

[R] I completely believe it.

Don't look at me all bleary like you're at
a fireside with a pipe n your beard.

--inaudible--

...he went to the same primary school as Boris though didn't he?

[J] He did, but he then went to a comprehensive school in North London.

[R] That's very good, that's all very well and good...

but what i'm saying is that within the existing paradigm the change is not dramatic enough, not radical enough,

so you can well understand public disturbances
and public dissatisfaction

when there are not genuine changes
and genuine alternatives being offered.

I say that when there is a genuine alternative,
a genuine option, then vote for that.

But until then? Pffffft! Don't bother. Why pretend? Why be complicit in this ridiculous illusion?

[J] Because by the time somebody comes along you might think it worth voting for, it may be too late.

[R] I don't think so because the time is now,

this movement is already occurring.
it's happening everywhere,

we're in a time where communication is instant-
aneous & there are communities all over the world.

the Occupy movement made a difference even if only in that it introduced to the popular public lexicon

the idea of the 1% versus the 99%.

People for the first time in a generation are aware of massive corporate and economic exploitation

these things are not nonsense and these as subjects are not being addressed.

They have... no one's doing anything about tax havens,

no one's doing anything about their political affiliations and financial affiliations at the Conservative Party,

so until people are addressing
things that are actually real,

why wouldn't i be facetious?
Why would I take it seriously?

Why would I encourage a constituency of young people that are absolutely indifferent, to vote?

Why would we? Aren't you bored?
Aren't you more bored than anyone?

Ain't you been talking on year after year listening to their lies? Their nonsense?

Then it's this one gets in, then it's that one gets in,
but this problem continues?

Why we gonna continue to contribute to this facade?

[J] I'm surprised you can be facetious
when you're that angry about it.

[R] Yeah I am angry. I am angry.

Because for me it's real.

Because for me it's not just some peripheral thing that I turn up once in awhile to church faithful.

For me, this is what I come from,
this is what I care about.

[J] Do you see any hope?

[R] Yeah, totally, there's gonna be a revolution,
it's totally going to happen.

I ain't got a flicker of doubt,
this is the END.

This is time to wake up.

I remember, I seen you in that program
where you look at your ancestors,

and you saw the way your grandmother,
who had to brass herself,

or got fucked over by the aristocrats
who ran her a gaff,

you cried because you knew that it was unfair,
and unjust.

And that was, what was that a century ago?

That's happening to people now.

I just come from a woman is being treated like that,

I've just been talking to a woman, today,
who's being treated like that.

So if we can engage that feeling instead of

some moment of lacrimo sentimentality trotted out on the tv for people to pour over emotional porn,

if we can engage that feeling, and change things, why wouldn't we?

Why is that naive? Why is that not my right because I'm an actor?

I mean, I've taken the right.

I don't need the right from you.

I don't need the right from anybody.

I'm takin' it.