Books: Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future (Paperback) by Bill McKibben (Author)

?Masterfully crafted, deeply thoughtful and mind-expanding.”?Los Angeles Times

In this powerful and provocative manifesto, Bill McKibben offers the biggest challenge in a generation to the prevailing view of our economy. Deep Economy makes the compelling case for moving beyond ?growth” as the paramount economic ideal and pursuing prosperity in a more local direction, with regions producing more of their own food, generating more of their own energy, and even creating more of their own culture and entertainment. Our purchases need not be at odds with the things we truly value, McKibben argues, and the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own.

Bill McKibben is the author of ten books, including The End of Nature, The Age of Missing Information, and Enough: Staying Human in an Engineered Age. A former staff writer for The New Yorker, he writes regularly for Harper''s, The Atlantic Monthly, and The New York Review of Books, among other publications. He is a scholar in residence at Middlebury College and lives in Vermont with his wife, the writer Sue Halpern, and their daughter.

In this 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 more 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 shows, the more we nurture the essential humanity of our economy, the more we will recapture our own.

"It would be unwise to dismiss McKibben''s ideas as pipe dreams or Luddism. He makes his case on anecdotal, environmental, moral and, as it were, aesthetic grounds. An attentive, widely traveled writer and environmentalist, McKibben cites the success of local projects around the world, from a rabbit-raising academy in China to a Guatemalan cooperative that manufactures farm machinery from old bicycles."?Lance Morrow, The New York Times Book Review

"Masterfully crafted, deeply thoughtful and mind-expanding . . . An incisive critique of the unintended consequences of our growth-oriented economy."?Los Angeles Times

"Deep Economy is about far more than food. At its heart is a marvelous exposition of Joel Salatin''s belief that everything has an appropriate scale. For McKibben, the appropriate scale for a sustainable and fulfilling life is the community . . . McKibben provides a wonderful example of how the expansion of radio-networks in America?at the expense of truly local radio stations?has cost the communities dear . . . In one aspect of life after another McKibben shows us show us how globalization has destroyed communities and the detracted from the quality of life of Americans."?The New York Review of Books

"McKibben, author of The End of Nature, suggests that there is a basic question haunting our moment on earth: ''Is more better?'' For thousands of years, the standard of living for human society remained relatively static, with the majority of people existing in a condition of general scarcity. But when living conditions began to improve, thanks to the power of industrialization and modern capitalism, the obvious conclusion was that ''more'' could only be better. Today, argues McKibben, this belief warrants revision. Measured in terms of growing inequalities within and across nations, a wealth of evidence suggests that ''more'' is no longer better?indeed, ''more'' may be very bad for us and our world. McKibben claims that the antidote for many global economic problems can be found locally. To this end, he argues that attention should be redirected towards more traditional means of pursuing prosperity within our communities, such as farmers'' markets, community-supported agriculture farms (CSAs), community-based radio stations, and mercantile cooperatives. While a turn to the local may not be fast, cheap, or easy, it may very well prove necessary if we are to secure the thriving of human beings in the decades ahead."?Josh Yates, Virginia Quarterly Review

?Up-front disclosure: Bill’s a friend and sometime collaborator. But if his book weren’t terrific I wouldn’t mention it. He takes on a question that hardly anyone, no matter his or her political persuasion, is willing to ask: Is economic growth a good thing? Dave Brower used to say that economic is a sophisticated device for stealing from our children. And Ed Abbey famously quipped that growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell. But nearly everyone else, left, right, and center, insists that perpetual growth is possible and necessary. McKibben blows this assumption out of the water, making an irresistible argument, buttressed with impressive logic and authority, that not only is unending economic growth causing catastrophic damage to the earth, the atmosphere, and human equality, the sheer fact of getting more and more stuff is not making people happier. It’s hard to do his thesis justice in a short space: I urge you to read it for yourself. A very important book.”?Earth Justice

?If you fancy yourself on the cutting edge of things you keep up with the trends, stay abreast of the news you’ll want to read Deep Economy by Bill McKibben . . . McKibben’s prose is pithy and approachable, e.g., when writing of what will happen if our carbon emissions go unchecked and the temperature continues to rise, he says, ?We might as well have a contest to pick a new name for Earth, because it will be a different planet. Humans have never done anything bigger, not even the invention of nuclear weapons.’ He also possesses a sly wit: ?Even President George W. Bush, in his 2006 State of the Union address, announced that we were ?addicted to oil,’ a recognition slow in coming (akin, say, to Abraham Lincoln using his Second Inaugural Address to note the existence of slavery down south).’ This sharp sense of humor is present throughout. I started marking examples, but found I was turning down the corner of almost every page . . . This book if you read it carefully and thoughtfully all the way through is a life-changer. McKibben gives realistic, practical application but you need to read the book. I’m not going to tell you what they are. Not just so you’ll go out and buy the book, but so you’ll have the pleasure of reading such cogent, beguiling and enticing prose. Suffice it to say that the answer isn’t more, but better.”?Sarah M. Streed, The Captial Times

?McKibben’s Deep Economy asks the crucial question that will occupy the next few human generations: Can we cut back on our profligate lifestyles to save the environment, and possibly our own species? McKibben is a fitting prophet to proclaim that we should retreat from the current overheated global economy that is overwhelming the Earth’s resources toward one with a lighter footprint . . . The bulk of Deep Economy focuses on vignettes and glimpses into locally lived lives that are successfully generating deep economies. Appropriately, he focuses much of his book near his home in Middlebury, VT., seamlessly extending local examples of deep economy to others around the planet . . . McKibben builds a strong case that if more local urban economies developed around food and other commodities, we would have a healthier planet . . . McKibben’s dexterity as a keen observer and stellar wordsmith makes Deep Economy well worth reading. His command of rhythm, language, phrasing and stories give life and ...