Deep Economy: Economics as If the World Mattered

by Bill Mc Kibben (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2009

  $3.25

  Is more really better? Can economies continue to grow indefinitely? And will our insatiable appetite for all things with a price tag finally bring the earth to its knees?
  
  In this powerful and provocative manifesto, Bill McKibben offers the biggest challenge in a generation to the prevailing view of our economy, arguing that our goal of endless economic expansion is currently destroying the planet, and with it, our humanity.
  Rather then pursuing unlimited economic growth-a mindset that has brought the world to the brink of environmental disaster-we should concentrate on creating localized economies, and rethink the things we buy, the food we eat, the energy we use, and the money that pays for it all. McKibben uses a variety of examples to show this concept blossoming around the world with striking results. Offering a realistic, if challenging, scenario for a hopeful future, he eloquently demonstrates that the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own.

• Used

  Hardcover
  2007

  $6.76

  In this powerful and provocative manifesto, Bill McKibben offers the biggest challenge in a generation to the prevailing view of our economy. For the first time in human history, he observes, more is no longer synonymous with better indeed, for many of us, they have become almost opposites. McKibben puts forward a new way to think about the things we buy, the food we eat, the energy we use, and the money that pays for it all. Our purchases, he says, need not be at odds with the things we truly value. McKibben's animating idea is that we need to move beyond growth as the paramount economic ideal and pursue prosperity in a more local direction, with cities, suburbs, and regions producing more of their own food, generating more of their own energy, and even creating more of their own culture and entertainment. He shows this concept blossoming around the world with striking results, from the burgeoning economies of India and China to the more mature societies of Europe and New England. For those who worry about environmental threats, he offers a route out of the worst of those problems; for those who wonder if there isn't something more to life than buying, he provides the insight to think about one's life as an individual and as a member of a larger community. McKibben offers a realistic, if challenging, scenario for a hopeful future. As he so eloquently shows, the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own.