Less Is More

by Jason Hickel

A very thorough analysis about why capitalistic growth cannot go on forever, given that is based on percentage increases in GDP. Percentages end up being exponential in growth. So GDP must increase exponentially over time. Since GDP is essentially a measure of extracting profit in the form of materials from the Earth eventually, the Earth can no longer support this process. We are nearing the point at which Earth is at risk of collapse, so we need to rethink our definition of growth and in fact our whole economic way of thinking. We need to head towards a static, but more equitable, situation.

Fundamentally the book is great at explaining the problem (exponential growth required by capitalism), and pretty good at explaining the solution (move towards a more harmonious existance with the nature on which we depend), but it does not really explain at all how we implement this solution, beyond the rather abstract notion of changing our philosophy on how an economy should work.

The book was written before the events of the last few years: war in Ukraine, war in the near east, right wing politics becoming mainstream and so on. I don't see how any of the solutions can even begin to take fruit in the current political climate. How do democractically elected governments begin to make the changes demanded by the book, without being at risk of being overrun by dictators and autocracies. And that's assuming that the democratically elected leaders in power actually want this change. Most of democracies are little more than plutocracies where the leaders are trying to acquire capital and wealth just like the autocractic leaders and dictators.

Essentially, the world is heading for a hard landing and it's not going to look nice.

26.12.2024 to 05.01.2025.