Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
by Bill McKibben
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Book Summary Information
Author: Bill McKibbenEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2008-03-04
ISBN: 0805087222
Number of pages: 272
Publisher: Holt Paperbacks
Book Reviews of Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
Book Review: Naive and question-begging
Summary: 2 Stars
I'll grant that we're rendering the planet unfit for human habitation, and not just rhetorically, but because I agree with McKibben. But his solution to the dilemma -- localized economies, and less consumption -- begs a few questions. His solutions might be the answer, but he's disingenous in not acknowledging their downside, and he puts far too much faith in good intentions trumping the self-interest of the rich world.
1. Can local economies work everywhere? Large-scale economies have made it possible for humans to live in many environments that could probably not otherwise support large populations. Los Angles, after all, is a desert.
2. Those of us in rich countries have long been reluctant to sacrifice for the rest of the world, and in the US, even for our own countrymen. Why does McKibben think we'll start now? After all, the economic benefits of localization will accrue to others, not to us in the rich world. And won't an emphasis on local economies make us even less interested, if that's possible, in the fate of, say, Africans and Africa?
3. McKibben has an absurd faith in neighborliness. For example, he claims that local currencies have no downside, because local governments won't issue more currency than they'd be willing to accept in payment of taxes and fees. But if national governments abuse the power to print money, why won't local governments?
4. Small farms are more productive per acre, but less per person. This of course means many of us will be returning to the farm. How is that going to be sold to Americans?
5. So I buy apples from a nearby farm because they taste better, even if they're more expensive. Why would I buy more expensive shoes from the nearby factory if they're no different from cheaper shoes from Vietnam?
6. McKibben tells us how how horrible ecologically it would be if the Chinese lived like Americans do today. But of course they won't be able to; with the recent increases in commodity prices, even Americans can't continue to live like Americans. Increased demand for natural resources will prevent these horror stories from playing out.
Summary of Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future
"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.
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