I have worked all my adult life trying to understand the implications of the insight that the economy depends on the environment for all its materials, energy, and assimilation of all its wastes. What began as academic curiosity developed into concern about the urgency of a transition to a post-growth economy, especially in rich countries. Justice requires that those most responsible for ecological overshoot reduce their demands on nature furthest and fastest so that those least responsible but suffering the worst consequences can also flourish. I hope you find the books I have chosen will help you take informed action to bring about the transition to a post-growth society.
Economic growth advances, contaminating the biosphere, breaking planetary boundaries, and spreading inequality and injustice. Using numerous illustrations and clear language,…
I loved this book because it helped me expand and deepen my understanding of why and how we should transition to an economy not dependent on economic growth. Tim Jackson is a profound thinker, talented writer, and compassionate human being.
Reading his book led to a friendship and collaboration that I value enormously, and which resulted in our path-breaking work on the transition of rich countries to post-growth. I hope this book will open your eyes as much as it did mine.
What can prosperity possibly mean in a world of environmental and social limits?
The publication of Prosperity without Growth was a landmark in the sustainability debate. Tim Jackson's piercing challenge to conventional economics openly questioned the most highly prized goal of politicians and economists alike: the continued pursuit of exponential economic growth. Its findings provoked controversy, inspired debate and led to a new wave of research building on its arguments and conclusions.
This substantially revised and re-written edition updates those arguments and considerably expands upon them. Jackson demonstrates that building a 'post-growth' economy is a precise, definable and meaningful task.…
Far too often, we hear that people are selfish and often cruel. Although that has not been my experience, I found Rutger Bregman's account of the innate kindness of human beings refreshing and persuasive.
He debunks experiments purporting to show that good people will do bad things if the situation calls for it, and he explains that the instinct to cooperate rather than compete runs deep within the human psyche. Indeed, it has been key to our survival as a species.
After I finished reading this book, I became more optimistic about our capacity to transition to a post-growth society and escape from overshoot.
THE INTERNATIONAL BESTSELLER A Guardian, Daily Telegraph, New Statesman and Daily Express Book of the Year
'Hugely, highly and happily recommended' Stephen Fry 'You should read Humankind. You'll learn a lot (I did) and you'll have good reason to feel better about the human race' Tim Harford 'Made me see humanity from a fresh perspective' Yuval Noah Harari
It's a belief that unites the left and right, psychologists and philosophers, writers and historians. It drives the headlines that surround us and the laws that touch our lives. From Machiavelli to Hobbes, Freud to Dawkins, the roots of this belief have…
My understanding of how the world works has been greatly influenced by my study of economics. However, economists often make overly optimistic assumptions about technology and resources that are not grounded in fact and experience.
Smil's book on how the world really works is a powerful antidote to the wishful thinking of those, not just economists, who believe that technology will solve the problems of overshoot, poverty, inequality, conflict, and whatever else may be ailing us.
I love Smil's grasp of physical, biological, and technological fundamentals and his ability to communicate his wisdom about how the world really works simply and with conviction.
'There is no author whose books I look forward to more than Vaclav Smil' Bill Gates __________
We have never had so much information at our fingertips and yet most of us don't know how the world really works. This book explains seven of the most fundamental realities governing our survival and prosperity. From energy and food production, through our material world and its globalization, to risks, our environment and its future, How the World Really Works offers a much-needed reality check - because before we can tackle problems effectively, we must understand the facts.
Economist Herman Daly, who died in 2022, had a wide and deep influence–except among his fellow economists. I have read virtually everything he wrote. Daly's long introduction to this edited book is an early yet comprehensive exposition of his ideas on a steady-state economy.
I also found the chapters written by luminaries such as Kenneth Boulding and E.F. Schumacher inspiring and thought-provoking. Much of the book is as relevant today to the transition to a post-growth society as when it was published in 1973. Other editions followed, but the first edition remains my favorite.
It's been said that imagining the end of the world is easier than imagining the end of capitalism. Sadly, I think this is true. The ideology of capitalism, cultivated and promoted by marketing, media, governments, and many international institutions such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, makes it difficult to imagine alternatives to capitalism.
I learned much from Wolfgang Streeck, who reminds us of the multiple stresses and strains that, separately and together, could result in capitalism's demise. I found this both worrying and empowering.
If we don't think outside the capitalist box, we will unconsciously limit the scope of change needed to confront capitalism's abject deficiencies. This will frustrate an intentional transition to a post-growth society.
After years of ill health, capitalism is now in a critical condition. Growth has given way to stagnation; inequality is leading to instability; and confidence in the money economy has all but evaporated.
In How Will Capitalism End?, the acclaimed analyst of contemporary politics and economics Wolfgang Streeck argues that the world is about to change. The marriage between democracy and capitalism, ill-suited partners brought together in the shadow of World War Two, is coming to an end. The regulatory institutions that once restrained the financial sector's excesses have collapsed and, after the final victory of capitalism at the end…
Economic growth advances, contaminating the biosphere, breaking planetary boundaries, and spreading inequality and injustice. Using numerous illustrations and clear language, my book surveys the overshoot crisis and explains why we must reduce and eliminate our dependency on economic growth. But what are the alternatives?
This book considers several post-growth perspectives – from green growth and doughnut economics to well-being, steady state, regenerative economics, circular economy, degrowth, and eco-socialism. I offer fourteen propositions as an ethical and practical foundation for transitioning to a post-growth society. Using the latest economic modeling, you'll see how we can reduce the physical size of the economy and avoid collapse while enhancing human flourishing and justice for all.
I’ve always been fascinated by group dynamics, large and small. Why things functioned well, why they didn’t. It’s possible my ability to empathize and use humor as a consensus-builder is the reason I was elected president of a homeowners association, a music production association, and even an agricultural group. Books were not particularly involved in this fascination! But in recent years, experiencing the breakdown of civility and trust in our political and cultural discourse, I’ve taken a more analytical view of the dynamics. These books, in their very different ways, have taught me lessons about life, understanding those with different beliefs, and finding ways to connect and move forward.
We’ve all experienced the overwhelming level of political and social divisiveness in our country. This invisible “virus” of negativity is, in part, the result of the name-calling and heated rhetoric that has become commonplace among commentators and elected leaders alike.
My book provides a clear perspective on the historical and modern-day causes of our nation's divisive state. It then proposes easy-to-understand solutions—an action plan for our elected leaders and citizens as well. Rather than a scholarly treatment of a complex topic, the book challenges us to take the obvious steps required of those living in a free democracy. And it…
Uniting the States of America: A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation
Lyle Greenfield's "Uniting the States of America―A Self-Care Plan for a Wounded Nation" is a work of nonfiction and opinion. Incorporating the lessons of history and the ideas and wisdom of many, it is intended as both an educational resource and a call-to-action for citizens concerned about the politically and culturally divided state of our Union. A situation that has raised alarm for the very future of our democracy.
First, the book clearly identifies the causes of what has become a national crisis of belief in and love for our country. How the divisiveness and hostility rampant in our political…
