Less is More – Jason Hickel

Although I went through a panic attack while reading some of the predictions linked to climate change in this book, I highly recommend it. Few books have made me question many dogmas – like economic growth and G.D.P, like less is more. Always with strong data to support his statements, and with international social justice at the center of his arguments, Jason Hickel describes how capitalism was created, or rather, forced upon people, by kicking people out from their land and the from their commons they had had and managed well for centuries (the enclosure movement), to force them into the workforce and to create scarcity. He also makes abundantly clear how capitalism cannot solve the climate catastrophe, and how, as long as we pursue unlimited economic growth on every sector of the economy, our societies will collapse – even if we attempted to use greener sources of energy. He calls for degrowth – which means growing vital sectors where needed, particularly in poor nations (public transit, hospitals, greener technology), while decreasing economic sectors which are damaging and not vital, especially in the Global North, who have used way more than their fair share of resources (like private vehicles, tourism, air travel). Some of the solutions he outlines to mitigate the global climate catastrophe are simple, cheap, and elegant, such as eliminating preprogrammed obsolescence, food waste, and implementing a world minimum salary.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *