Remember Tyler Durden's rant in Fight Club about working jobs we hate to buy stuff we don't need? Remember the backlash against N. R. Narayana Murthy for championing the 70-hour/week grind culture? If the benchmark against which we measure a good life is pushed perpetually out of reach by incessantly increasing the need for consumption and competition, all in the name of growth and development, what will happen? Jason Hickel more or less addresses this question in his book "Less is More".
He argues that the relentless pursuit of endless growth inherent in capitalism is fundamentally unsustainable and has led to social inequalities and environmental degradation on a global scale. By quoting Jevons paradox, he warns that even green innovations and technological solutions alone won't be able to change the current trajectory. He debunks the myth of GDP as the sole measure of progress, exposing its failure to capture social well-being, environmental impact, and inequality.
He boldly advocates that we shouldn't be obsessed with the idea of capitalism and be open to replacing it with something better. As a remedy and alternative, he suggests "degrowth" to the current growth-obsessed system. Degrowth is a planned reduction in energy and material footprints to achieve ecological sustainability.
Hickel proposes "degrowth" as a solution, suggesting we start by: putting an end to planned obsolescence of goods, spending less on advertising, shifting from private ownership to community ownership wherever feasible, encouraging circular economies, ending food wastage, and scaling down ecologically destructive industries. Alongside such measures, he underscores the need for international cooperation and solidarity to ensure a just and equitable transition towards a steady-state economy. Through this approach, he assures a better quality of life and a shift towards social and ecological values over endless material accumulation.
The author shows his support for animism and concludes with a message of hope. He emphasizes that, at its core, degrowth is not about austerity or sacrifice, but rather about actively participating in building a world based on values of cooperation, care, reciprocity, sufficiency, and respect for planetary boundaries. He calls us to reimagine our relationship with consumption, work, and prosperity, proposing a future where having less might unlock a richer, more sustainable way of living.
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