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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

Dec 20, 2019 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Low-impact Christmas present ideas

Are you in need of a low-impact Christmas present idea? I’ve made most of my e-books available on a ‘pay what you can’ basis (including paying nothing). You can download here. Easy, cheap, quick, and low-impact. Also, in recent months I’ve collaborated with a bunch of top notch musicians to create an unusual musical production called “Dreaming Backwards, Falling Awake”... 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

Jun 14, 2019 Posted by Samuel Alexander

This Civilisation is Finished: Conversations on the end of Empire – and what lies beyond

I’ve just published a new book, co-authored with philosopher-activist Rupert Read (leading spokesperson of the Extinction Rebellion in the UK). There is also a postscript by Helena Norberg-Hodge, author of Ancient Futures and producer of The Economics of Happiness. Our new book is entitled This Civilisation is Finished: Conversations on the end of Empire – and what lies beyond, but don’t... read more

Nov 22, 2018 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Book Launch: Degrowth in the Suburbs (6 Dec)

Book launch on 6 December at 5pm, University of Melbourne. A few weeks ago I posted about the new book I’ve published, Degrowth in the Suburbs: A Radical Urban Imaginary, co-authored with Prof. Brendan Gleeson. For those in Melbourne, the book will be launched at the University of Melbourne on 6 December at 5pm. David Holmgren, co-originator of the permaculture concept, is launching the book. If... read more

Oct 31, 2018 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Post-Capitalism by Design not Disaster: Creating Common Wealth via Degrowth

Two weekends ago I delivered a keynote presentation at the New Economy Network of Australia. I’ve had several requests for a transcript, so I’ve posted it below. POST-CAPITALISM BY DESIGN NOT DISASTER Samuel Alexander MELBOURNE SUSTAINABLE SOCIETY INSTITUTE UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE (Keynote address at the New Economy Network of Australia Conference) Designing the Descent Good morning everyone,... 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

Mar 28, 2018 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Living the Change: Now Available from Happen Films

Jordan Osmond and Antoinette Wilson have released their new film, Living the Change: Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future. It’s an excellent and inspiring film, available here, and the trailer is posted below.... read more

Mar 4, 2018 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Degrowth, Permaculture, and the Simpler Way (Collected Essays)

Late last year I published my third book of collected essays – and I never got around to posting about it. The collection is called Wild Democracy: Degrowth, Permaculture, and the Simpler Way and it is available here. My first two books of collected essays are Prosperous Descent: Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits and Sufficiency Economy: Enough, for Everyone,... read more

Feb 25, 2018 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Living the Change: Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future (Film)

Jordan Osmond (who co-produced A Simpler Way with me) is about to release his second feature film, co-directed with Antoinette Wilson. The premiere is on 8 March, at 6.45pm, at Cinema Nova – if you’re around, come along and invite your friends. Should be amazing. Details below, tickets here. ———– Living the Change: Inspiring Stories for a Sustainable Future (Film) 8... 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 24, 2017 Posted by Samuel Alexander

Degrowth as an “Aesthetics of Existence”

I have just published a new MSSI monograph called “Degrowth as an ‘Aesthetics of Existence'” The pdf is available here and I’ve posted the essay below. Thanks to Melissa Davis for the cover image. This essay also appears as the introduction to my new book, Art Against Empire: Toward an Aesthetics of Degrowth Many of the great cultural shifts that prepare the way for political... 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.