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Five interpretations of The Lorax

“It’s more than 40 years since Dr Seuss first published The Lorax, his classic tale of needless consumerism and environmental ruin. But as a new film version is released in the US, what is the book really all about?”

“The Lorax was published in 1971, just as the environmental movement began to take hold (the first Earth Day was held in New York the year before).”

“The Lorax was a brilliant description of capitalism as we know it,” says Peter Barnes, a San Francisco businessman and author of Capitalism 3.0.

“If you look at all the advertising, all the crap that our economy churns out, most of it is thneeds, it’s not stuff we actually need. It’s stuff we’re made to think we need.”

“When the character that’s being used to sell those products is one that’s essentially been a spokesperson for conservation for more than 40 years, it’s particularly perverse and damaging,” says Mr Brezzo.”