Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future

Deep Economy: The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future

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Editorial Reviews

“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
 
"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
 
"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 th

Customer Reviews

Deeply Disturbing

Reviewed by Oliver, 2009-12-30

For most of human history, "more" and "better" have been pretty much the same when it comes to the things we want. Even today, a very large number of people live in poverty, and their main priority is more -- more food, more clothing, more medical care, more things. For them, "more" would still be "better."

But, for many of us, we have long ago passed the point where "more" is the same as "better." Every study that has looked at the correlation between wealth and happiness finds the same thing. Up to a certain point, more money make people happier. After a certain point, however, more money stops making us happier. Many of us are long past that point. McKibben starts with this observation, but then he moves further.

According to McKibben, our wealthy modern lifestyle is actually starting to make us less happy. We are social creatures, and living alone in massive houses, traveling in separate cars and the other things money tends to buy these days tend to isolate us from other people. This makes us less happy, in the end, not more.

And, finally, our lifestyle is less and less sustainable. Our food supply, for example, is highly dependent on cheap oil. While this has worked for a while, it cannot work forever. The demand for oil -- and other limited resources -- will grow spectacularly as some of those in poverty start to adopt some of our way of life. And that is so, even if population stops growing.

I found this book deeply disturbing, but I think McKibben is right about the problems he identifies. McKibben, however, is not so pessimistic. He thinks there are solutions that will allow us to live even happier lives by consuming less, not more. I sincerely hope that he is right, and that more people at least listen to what he has to say.

an inspiring and insightful book

Reviewed by colleen, 2009-12-23

This book is both interesting and enjoyable. In questioning a fundamental premise of our economy and modern society- that perpetual growth is good, desirable, and necessary- McKibben aims high. While one can't help but feel that the cat is out of the bag on this, and may never go back in, McKibben does an admirable job of highlighting the potential power of a slow, gradual shift away from the growth paradigm. He inspires while he educates, and ultimately leaves the reader feeling more empowered by the relevance of his or her own choices than overwhelmed by the impossibility of change.

Preservation of Built Environment re: Deep Economy

Reviewed by Gabriel Orgrease, 2009-10-20

When I read this book I kept reading passages that made me desire to buy more copies and send to specific of my friends as McKibben brings up so many issues that I have heard expressed regarding the need for a sustainable human built-environment, as well as sustaining the resource of traditional trades.

Preservation of old buildings, and the people who practice the craft of historic preservation, is not solely about a near-religious fixation on ancestor worship. It is also about not discarding the embedded energy and resource of the existing built environment, and a conscientious understanding of how most optimally to preserve that previously expended use of energy resources, and it is this perspective that the practitioners of traditional trades embody in a collective knowledge. To bring these people together to share in their knowledge is to build a sustainable community toward a durable future.

You can paint it GREEN if you so desire, but it is so much more than choice of a color pallet.

"Consider the most influential new program on television in the last decade, Survivor, which ushered in the reality show craze. Along with its uncountable offspring, it operates on the premise that the goal is to end up alone on the island, to manipulate and scheme until everyone else goes away and leaves you by yourself with your money"

And then we have the father of balloon boy.

Can one say that Richard Heene and his family is not living out the American dream, or soon to be nightmare, in a sort of modern morality play of Everyman as reinforced by our mass-news media?

I have been building a UFO out of cast iron for many years now... on a test flight of an early prototype it sunk off the south shore of Long Island. Possibly I should have called the Coast Guard? Or possibly the answer to capture maximum broad-band exposure is more gas and we purchase more better duct tape?

After many years of working in the construction industry I am often struck, and a bit outraged, at the prevailing public opinion that the low bidder on a project, particularly one paid for by taxes, is the least cost and the most efficient. On the surface it makes sense that we would want to pay less for more, or for just enough, but once the public spotlight on a project is gone, once a project goes into contract there are a whole host of "hidden" costs. These are costs that are in the interest of various players, particularly the ones who receive the windfall, to want to keep hidden. The name of the game is to bid low, which assures getting the project, then fight for change orders on every single discrepancy that can be fought over. It makes for a cantankerous work environment. Contractors who master the low-bid game also master the change order process. I say this as the largest change order I was ever involved in manipulating, from the contractor side, was $2.5M and it had more to do with bureaucratic incompetence than it had to do with necessity. Give it a few years later and the entire project would likely be done over again at an even higher cost. There are techniques of manipulation and negotiation that one learns as in any profession.

None of this low-bid outrage has much to do with Bill McKibben's book, least ways not much on the surface. This book sat on the corner of my work desk for more than a year before I finally picked it up. In part my slowness in taking it on had to do with the recession, having to work hard enough already to stay solvent and not wanting to focus on those problems, and a reluctance to maybe look at what is hidden beneath our current economic trends. There is one thing that comes out to me very strongly in the current economy, and that is that healthy community, connections, relationships, networking is vital to our personal survival. That is a bit of what McKibben talks about, the relationship of hyper-individualism, the uninhibited pursuit of number-one as opposed to the common good, and posits this social relationship against a backdrop of a closed-earth system with a limitation on progressive growth, and a limitation on the resources of energy, and a strain on the natural environment that human life itself is dependent upon.

Something that I picked up on in New Orleans post-Katrina is that the historic structures that survived tended to be built not only in survivable areas, but with local materials (cypress for example, plaster made with burnt oyster shells for another) that were understood by the local building culture to be appropriate, but also that the local building culture had been influenced by centuries of French experience in Equatorial and tropic climates. And yet, post-Katrina one of the problems encountered was the tendency of sheetrock to get black mold (unlike with plaster, and who knows how much of the sheetrock came from China and may contain poisons?), or the replacement of exterior doors or windows with the latest mass-manufactured big-box substitute. McKibben in one passage talks about local forest harvests and what some may call "alternative" building technologies that re-jigger the mass production economics in the building industry (think home building industry, and was it not the home building industry, mortgages etc. that fueled the last economic bubble?) to increase local labor (decentralized, potentially in work teams, as in communal and/or barter exchange) and in the end come out not only less expensive in the long-range (avoidance of long-term debt and usury) and often with materials that can be replenished within one human's lifetime.

Regardless what one believes about climate change it is fairly obvious that humans are running out of resources as populations increase, and as emerging 'growth' populations take on a rapidly expanding conversion of non-renewable energy resources -- but what is not so easily noticed is the hidden costs of our state of mind, of the ferocity of our individualism, our demand that an individual has a right to rise to the top "by their own efforts". Unfortunately nobody rises by their own efforts, they rise by the efforts of the community that selects and supports them to rise. One can bend the language to create a myth of self-reliant individualism, but it remains just that, a myth.

One of the things that I hear, and feel, is that a long-term sustainable economic recovery cannot be obtained if we continue to push toward "progress" in the same manner as got us to where we are now, and that a future economy will need to be different, will need to be more communal... and I mean this in the sense that not every home needs to be a McMansion, and not every McMansion needs three cars and a speed boat too large to trailer behind their SUV. McKibben provides a host of examples and contemplation on the hidden costs and the need for sustainable, local, community based economic models. What I come away with is looking at the immediate lives around me, my own included, and a desire to figure out how to make sensible adjustments toward a sustainable business model and life.

Visionary

Reviewed by Amber Kelley, 2009-10-19

Let me start by saying that I'm not an environmentalist. I believe that this world is here for our enjoyment. That being said I was transfixed by Bill McKibbens vision in this book. He says what I have always believed - the best life is one derived locally: it helps not only the environment but enriches our social and emotional connectedness as well. You can't build a daily relationship with a farmer on the other side of the country but you can do so with someone in your community. The farmer 2000 miles away doesn't know or care when you get laid off or sick but the one next door might cut you a deal in hard times. Additionally, you don't even know if the guy way out there has a family but the one next door might have a kid who could use your kids hand me downs. This sort of thinking seems to me to be the basis for Deep Economy.
McKibben's work is both bleakly terrifying and hopeful at the same time. The juxtaposition of the modern view of successful economy against the rich community found in the 'third world' shows just how diverse McKibben's experiences are. He shows us time and again that more is not necessarily better. In the highly literate and well educated yet financially poor city of Kerala we see that a great community does not require high finance - just the dedication of the populous. In the seemingly lifeless trade city of Yiwu inhabited by millions of products but few true souls we are given a window into the emptiness of American consumerism punctuated by sales slogans in broken English.
Anyone willing to crack this book open will be rewarded with a renewed vision. We each have the power to affect our own community by participating in a local lifestyle which will have the bonus effect of reducing our footprint on the world. In short - why buy fruit from 2000 miles away when you can find it free (or cheap) in your own back yard, or perhaps your neighbors?

What a nice, surprising read!

Reviewed by mikeandleslie, 2009-09-29

I had no idea what to expect going into this book, and I must say that I feel all the wiser for reading it. McKibben gives a wonderfully, refreshing alternative to globalization than fellow writer, Thomas Friedman, offers in The World is Flat: instead of pushing for greater innovation and being ok to the sound of globalization's inevitability, McKibben makes a prophetic call for a return to localization and community for the sake of the future of our world and for the sake of our personal happiness. Armed with stories about the growing farmer's markets phenomena, community radio, urban gardens and the 180 degree turn Cuba made in reinventing itself as a farming country (to name a few), McKibben provides us with story after story of what localization could look like in the 21st century without sounding like he wants us to sell our houses and join the Amish.

While not a left-leaning, Green Californian, I found his reasoning quite compelling on why I should buy local and begin to start asking stewardship questions like, "at what greater cost (to the earth or to exploited people, etc.) am I getting this lobster from the restaurant, this tomato from Safeway, or this book from Wal-mart?" And so by asking a whole new set of questions, McKibben offers a consumeristic America a wonderful gift: the call to begin thinking interdependently and to begin asking if MORE really does mean BETTER?

So whether you're left, right, or just a hanging chad, this book will make you think about what makes you happy and how you fit into the whole of humanity.