Degrowth / Post-Growth | The Simplicity Collective

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Jun 6, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

One Planet Living

Yesterday I was keynote speaker for World Environmental Day at the University of Melbourne. Below I have posted the transcript of my talk: Good afternoon everyone. Thank you for that introduction, Professor Kvan, and thank you all for being here to mark World Environment Day. It was Buckminster Fuller who once said: ‘You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a... read more

May 31, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Wurruk’an: Seeding a New Earth Story

Over the last two years I’ve been helping develop a ‘simpler way’ demonstration project in Gippsland, Victoria (Australia), on a property which we have named Wurruk’an. Wurruk is the local indigenous term meaning both ‘Earth’ and ‘story’. K’an is the Mayan word for ‘seed’. We’ve invented the word Wurruk’an to signify our attempt... read more

May 20, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Introduction to ‘Prosperous Descent’

A paperback of my new book, Prosperous Descent: Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits, is available here and a link to a free pdf copy of the book will be sent out to subscribers of the Simplicity Institute in a week. Please sign up to the Simplicity Institute here to receive the link. INTRODUCTION TO ‘PROSPEROUS DESCENT’ By Samuel Alexander I sometimes tell my students that I am an... read more

May 18, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Prosperous Descent: Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits

I’ve just published a new book, Prosperous Descent: Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits, which is the first volume of my collected essays to be published this year. The cover and endorsements are posted below. A second book of collected essays, Sufficiency Economy: Enough, for Everyone, Forever, will be published in a couple of months. The paperback of Prosperous Descent is available here.... read more

Apr 23, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Degrowth, sustainability, and tackling global inequalities

Recently I was interviewed by Jen Wilton, a UK journalist and researcher, on the subject of degrowth. What follows is the transcript of our phone interview, originally posted here. Degrowth, sustainability, and tackling global inequalities Q: What would a degrowth society look like? SA: A lot of mainstream environmentalism still clings to the idea that we can dematerialise our ways of living without... read more

Feb 5, 2015 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Steady State Economy and the Incompatibility of Capitalism, by Geoff Mosley

The following text is a transcript (with minor revisions) of a talk Geoff Mosley gave at the 2014 Fenner Conference on the Steady State Economy at the University of NSW. Geoff is the Australian Director of the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy. Thanks to Geoff for granting permission to reproduce his talk. ____________ A MESSAGE FROM THE FUTURE: THE STEADY STATE ECONOMY AND THE... read more

Oct 3, 2014 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Life in a ‘degrowth’ economy, and why you might actually enjoy it

Yesterday my article “Life in a ‘degrowth’ economy, and why you might actually like it” was published in The Conversation. I’ve reposted it below: What does genuine economic progress look like? The orthodox answer is that a bigger economy is always better, but this idea is increasingly strained by the knowledge that, on a finite planet, the economy can’t grow for ever. This... read more

Sep 20, 2014 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Economic ‘degrowth’ needed to stop a carbon budget blowout

My short article below appeared in The Conversation yesterday. A newly released report called Better Growth, Better Climate draws the seductive conclusion that “we can create lasting economic growth while also tackling the immense risks of climate change”. But while the report, spearheaded by former Mexican president Felipe Calderón and UK climate economist Nicholas Stern, wisely points out the... read more

Sep 9, 2014 Posted by Samuel Alexander

The Simple Life – Past, Present, Future

The following essay, by the preeminent historian of simplicity, David Shi, is the ‘foreword’ to my new book, Simple Living in History: Pioneers of the Deep Future, which I co-edited with Amanda McLeod. This essay provides a wise and stimulating introduction to many of the individuals, cultures, and movements that have embraced forms of ‘simple living’ throughout history and which... read more

Aug 30, 2014 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Simple Living in History: Pioneers of the Deep Future

Simple Living in History: Pioneers of the Deep Future, edited by Samuel Alexander and Amanda McLeod. Below I have posted the ‘Table of Contents’ and ‘Preface by the Editors’. The book is available here. Information on the launch is available here. Please share 🙂 ________________________________ TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface by the Editors, Samuel Alexander and Amanda... 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.