Deep Economy

Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future by Bill McKibben

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


"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.

"The animating idea of Deep Economy 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. McKibben shows this concept blossoming around the world with striking results, from the burgeoning economies of India and China to the 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.

"A generation ago, many environmentalists advocated 'deep ecology,' through which they sought to move beyond short-term, piecemeal reforms by asking profound questions about the choices people make in their daily lives. McKibben demonstrates that we need a similar shift in our thinking about economics -- we need to think about the 'deep economy' that takes human satisfaction and societal durability more seriously. As he so eloquently shows, the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own."
~~front and back flaps

It's hard to find anything else to say about this book, other than the author certainly does all that's promised on the jacket blurb, and does it in ordinary English that is easy to understand. Sometimes these sorts of books are written in "deep acadamese" and are almost inaccessible to the lay public. Not so with this book (or any of his other books that I've read). Which reflects one of the central tenets of the book: change in our economy and our society has to start locally, with the people.

It's a book well worth reading -- thought provoking, and making a durable future seem very doable. The author has captured an idea I've had for years but didn't know how to articulate or implement: that communities are important, local scale must be first and foremost if we are to sustain our planet in a liveable condition.