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Mar 17, 2022 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Video: Post-Capitalism by Design not Disaster – A Grassroots Theory of Change

Capitalism has various growth imperatives that are inconsistent with environmental limits. That is, capitalism must grow for stability but cannot grow limitlessly on a finite planet. It follows that the future will be post-capitalist – by design or disaster. In this presentation I explore a grassroots theory of change that I argue is the most coherent way to help drive a post-capitalist transition by... read more

Feb 23, 2022 Posted by Samuel Alexander

A ‘Real’ Green New Deal? Policies for a Post-Growth Economy (Video)

I’ve just released the next video presentation in the Ecological Civilisation series. Today’s topic is ‘Policies for a Post-Growth Economy‘ and my question is: What would a ‘real’ Green New Deal look like? In my next presentation I’m going to consider ‘Life in a Degrowth Economy: Envisioning a Prosperous Descent’. Watch this space! This series is free... read more

Mar 8, 2021 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Disturbance and Enchantment in the Industrial City (National Radio Interview)

Last weekend I was interviewed on national radio with my colleague Professor Brendan Gleeson. We discuss our new book Urban Awakenings: Disturbance and Enchantment in the Industrial City. You can listen to the 25 minute interview here and read more about the book here. I’d also like to share a YouTube link to a talk given by my colleague Joshua Floyd, where he discusses our paper ‘The... read more

May 12, 2020 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Death for Gaia: Ecocide and the Righteous Assassins

In the middle of last year I finished the manuscript of a book called Death for Gaia: Ecocide and the Righteous Assassins, co-authored with Associate Professor Peter Burdon, of Adelaide Law School, Australia. Believe it or not, the book is a work of philosophical fiction about a global pandemic, although given the timeline any similarities with the existing situation are obviously coincidental. With the... read more

Sep 17, 2019 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Rebellion Hypothesis: Crisis, Inaction, and the Question of Civil Disobedience

Many of you will have read about the Extinction Rebellion that has been hitting the streets around the world in recent months. I’ve participated in these non-violent demonstrations, not because I agree with every framing, demand, or detail of this movement, but because I worry that ordinary politics is functioning to sleepwalk us all toward catastrophe. Therefore, I feel we need to experiment with... read more

Jul 13, 2019 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Entropia Television Production

In a bizarre and unexpected twist of fate, I’ve recently received calls from TV executives in Los Angeles who have been wanting to purchase rights to my book, Entropia: Life Beyond Industrial Civilisation, to make a television production. That’s right, a TV show! It’s one of the major global players. A contract has been signed and now we are waiting (possibly 18 months or so) to see what... read more

Oct 23, 2018 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Short Film: Degrowth in the Suburbs

Recently I posted about my new book – Degrowth the in Suburbs: A Radical Urban Imaginary – co-authored with Professor Brendan Gleeson. A couple of days ago Happen Films released a short video on the topic, based on my household – see below.... read more

Oct 18, 2018 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Degrowth in the Suburbs: A Radical Urban Imaginary

I’ve just published a new book, Degrowth in the Suburbs: A Radical Urban Imaginary, co-authored with Professor Brendan Gleeson, with a foreword by David Holmgren, and published by Palgrave Macmillan. (If anyone is interested in reviewing it on their website / blog, please leave a comment and I’ll send you a pdf). More details in forthcoming posts. This book addresses a central dilemma of the... read more

Dec 29, 2017 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Home Biogas Review: Independent Assessment from Australia

Biogas is a renewable energy source with net-zero emissions. In an age of worrying climate change and looming fossil energy decline, wouldn’t it be great if we could produce biogas at our homes and burn it as a cooking fuel? Well, it turns out you can. That’s what I’ve been doing in recent months and it’s helped enable our household to completely disconnect from conventional (fossil) gas and... read more

Oct 21, 2017 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Art Against Empire: Toward an Aesthetics of Degrowth

Last night I launched my new book called Art Against Empire: Toward an Aesthetics of Degrowth. This book is the outcome of a year-long collaboration with culture jamming artists around the world who produced over 170 images that make up the substance of the book. You can see some of the images here and the book is available for purchase here. What role might art need to play in the transition beyond... read more

Invitation / Incitation

The Simplicity Collective is founded upon the idea that a 'simpler life' of reduced resource and energy consumption is a viable and desirable alternative to consumer culture.

Our position is that simple living will improve not only our own lives, but the lives of others, as well as help save our planet from the environmental catastrophe towards which we are so enthusiastically marching.

We must not just fall in line, then, and continue the march ‘business as usual.’ We must explore alternative ways to live. We must experiment creatively, like the artist. We must be the poets of our own lives and of a new generation.