Voluntary Simplicity, Degrowth, and Peak Oil
Over the last few years I’ve written a bunch of papers and articles focusing on voluntary simplicity, degrowth, and peak oil. With the new university semester fast approaching, my time available to write long papers is going to diminish, so I thought I’d list my publications to date, with links to most of the full working papers, excluding book chapters. (N.B. The working papers linked below appear in revised and/or abridged versions in the formal publications, sometimes with altered titles).
If you have any friends who might be interested in these ideas, please feel free to forward this page to them.
Academic Publications
- Samuel Alexander, ‘The Sufficiency Economy: Envisioning a Prosperous Way Down‘ Simplicity Institute Report, 12s (2012).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Degrowth, Expensive Oil, and the New Economics of Energy’ 61 Real World Economics Review 40-51 (2012)
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Radical Simplicity and the Middle-Class: Exploring the Lifestyle Implications of a Great Disruption’ Simplicity Institute Report 12p (2012).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Resilience through Simplification: Revisiting Tainter’s Theory of Collapse‘ Simplicity Institute Report 12h (2012).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Voluntary Simplicity and the Social Reconstruction of Law: Degrowth from the Grassroots Up’ Environmental Values 22(2) (2013).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Planned Economic Contraction: The Emerging Case for Degrowth’ Environmental Politics 21(3) (2012) 349-368.
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Ted Trainer and the Simpler Way‘ Simplicity Institute Report, 12d (2012). [forthcoming in Capitalism, Nature, Socialism]
- Samuel Alexander and Simon Ussher, ‘The Voluntary Simplicity Movement: A Multi-National Survey Analysis in Theoretical Context’ Journal of Consumer Culture 12(1) (2012) 66.
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Peak Oil and the Twilight of Growth’ 37(2) Alternative Law Journal (2012).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Degrowth implies Voluntary Simplicity: Overcoming Barriers to Sustainable Consumption,’ Simplicity Institute Report 12b (2012).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Living Better on Less? Toward an Economics of Sufficiency’ 61 Real World Economics Review 2-21 (2012).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Earth Jurisprudence and the Ecological Case for Degrowth’ in Peter Burdon (ed), Exploring Wild Law: The Philosophy of Earth Jurisprudence (2011) 293.
- Samuel Alexander, ‘The Voluntary Simplicity Movement: Reimagining the Good Life beyond Consumer Culture’ 7(3) International Journal of Environmental, Cultural, Economic, and Social Sustainability (2011) 133.
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Looking Backward from the Year 2099: Ecozoic Reflections on the Future’ 1(1) Earth Jurisprudence and Environmental Justice Journal (2011) 25.
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Property beyond Growth: Toward a Politics of Voluntary Simplicity’ in David Grinlinton and Prue Taylor (ed), Property Rights and Sustainability: The Evolution of Property Rights to Meet Ecological Challenges (2011) 117.
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Property beyond Growth: Toward a Politics of Voluntary Simplicity (doctoral thesis, Melbourne Law School, 2011)
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Peak Oil, Energy Descent, and the Fate of Consumerism,’ Simplicity Institute Report 11b (2011).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Imagining a Post-Growth Jurisprudence of Property’ Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Economic Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity (2010).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Deconstructing the Shed: Where I Live and What I Live For’ 18 The Concord Saunterer: A Journal of Thoreau Studies (2010) 125.
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Earth Jurisprudence and the Ecological Case for Degrowth’ 6 The Journal Jurisprudence (2010) 131.
- Samuel Alexander (ed), Voluntary Simplicity: The Poetic Alternative to Consumer Culture (2009).
Other Publications
- Samuel Alexander, ‘What is a Transition Town?’ Permaculture Research Institute (21 July, 2012).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Beyond Capitalism with a Human Face: A Radically Simple Way’ Transition Voice (20 July, 2012).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Life After the Peak,’ Issues 99 (2012) 40.
- Samuel Alexander, ‘What will Rio+20 bring?‘ Energy Bulletin (15 June, 2012).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Can Renewable Energy Sustain Consumer Societies?’ Energy Bulletin (26 April, 2012).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘The Simple Life has Benefits for All of Us’ The Age (16 March, 2012).
- Samuel Alexander, Ted Trainer, and Simon Ussher, ‘The Simpler Way: A Practical Action Plan for Living More with Less,’ Simplicity Institute Report 12a (2012).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Questioning the Growth Imperative,’ 35 Green [publication of the Australian Greens] (2012) 9.
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Peak Oil Can Fuel a Change for the Better.’ The Age (11 January 2012).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Occupy Melbourne’ Arena Magazine #115 (2011) 16.
- Samuel Alexander, ‘God’s Away on Business: The Spiritual Significance of Voluntary Simplicity’ 2(2) Earthsong (2011) 7.
- Samuel Alexander, ‘A Simpler, Freer Life: Insights from Thoreau’ 18(3) Adbusters: Journal of the Mental Environment (2010) Part IV.
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Christmas: The Assumption of Consumption’ 6(1) University of Melbourne Voice (2010).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Pare Down Your Life to Make it Happier’ 28 Green [publication of the Australian Greens] (2009) 12.
Policy Documents
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Envisioning a Sustainable Moreland: The Key to Local Food Production is on our Doorsteps‘ (Submission to the City of Moreland Council, 2012)
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Envisioning a Sustainable Urban Landscape: The Key to Local Food Production is on our Doorsteps‘ (Above submission revised as a generic document, to allow people to submit to their own Councils)
Unpublished Manuscripts:
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Just Enough is Plenty: Thoreau’s Alternative Economics’ (unpublished manuscript on file with the author).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Ignite: An Unspoken Address to the Occupiers‘ (unpublished manuscript on file with the author).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Voluntary Simplicity as an Aesthetics of Existence’ (unpublished manuscript on file with the author).
- Samuel Alexander, ‘Toward a Foucauldian Ethics of Sustainable Consumption‘ (unpublished manuscript on file with the author).
Websites
www.simplicityinstitute.org and www.simplerway.org and www.simplicitycollective.com
wow sam! you’re prolific!
[…] This website is currently under construction… should be ready in a few days. For the time being, most of the content is available here: http://simplicitycollective.com/voluntary-simplicity-degrowth-and-peak-oil […]
Just finished Entropia. Wonderful! I can imagine myself in this community, I yearn to be there, but am in tears now, knowing that I am trapped in the current paradigm. I am inspired however to spend time in the nearby wilderness. Perhaps the scents of damp earth and leaf mold combined with the sounds of birds and running water will wash away some of my cynicism. Thank you.