Zac Goldsmith - Writing and Journalism

Writing and Journalism

In 1997, Goldsmith was appointed reviews editor of The Ecologist, by his uncle Edward Goldsmith, founding editor, owner and publisher of the magazine. In 1998, he became editor-in-chief and director of The Ecologist, but did not draw a salary. He relaunched the magazine on 28 March 2000 in a new format. He transformed the academic journal style of the publication into a current affairs magazine format to broaden its appeal, and trebled its circulation. In January 2006, after indicating his interest in electoral politics, he announced he was stepping down as editor.

Goldsmith speaks and writes about environmental causes in Britain, which includes debating twice at the Oxford Union and delivering keynote addresses. He has written for UK newspapers including the Daily Mail, Evening Standard, Observer, and the Telegraph. He is also a contributor to magazines such as the New Statesman and Quintessentially Magazine.

He is a contributing author of the book We Are One: A Celebration of Tribal Peoples, published in late 2009. The book explores the culture of peoples around the world, portraying both its diversity and the threats it faces. Among other contributors are several western writers, such as Laurens van der Post, Noam Chomsky, Claude Lévi-Strauss, and also indigenous peoples, such as Davi Kopenawa Yanomami and Roy Sesana. The book is composed of a collection of photographs, statements from tribal people, and essays from international authors, politicians, philosophers, poets, artists, journalists, anthropologists, environmentalists and photojournalists. In his essay, Goldsmith talks about how his travel through the world in his youth gave him first-hand experience of the misery brought by the promise of western "progress" and "development". He reflects on the culture of these people and, in reverence to it, urges people in the modern world to question what "progress" can really mean. The royalties from the sale of this book go to the indigenous rights organisation, Survival International.

He is also the author of The Constant Economy, which outlines his political principles and concrete policies that Britain could implement for a sustainable economy.