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Less is More: How degrowth will save the world
Lockdown continues to be one of those tricky times for reading. Not a time for bleak facts and harrowing realities. So let’s read about the ways capitalism speeds us to our collective doom!
The book is split into two sections and the first explains how we got into this mess. It all started when feudalism was overthrown and the peasant class managed to enjoy a life of subsistence. This wasn’t appreciated by the ruling classes who set about closing down all the publicly usable commons, leasing the land and kicking people off if they couldn’t create enough of a yield. From there there’s a trip through colonialism, the industrial revolution and even modern banking.
The second section approaches the ways to fix this mess. Capitalism’s solutions are invariably bizarre, terrifying and too narrowly focused to trust. Instead compassion, respect and recognising that we are a part of this world - not above it - are where we should place our effort.
I loved this book. It has intensely bleak stretches but closes with a sense of wonder and admiration for the natural world. It covers a neat balance of economic, environmental and anthropological perspectives.
The way Hickel described that narrow stretch of time in Britain from 1350 to 1500 has set me off on an interesting path of finding connections. I had finished The Return of the King just prior, and the final two chapters show the hobbits reclaiming the Shire after shady forces had imposed a form of industrialisation and enclosure.
The films don’t cover this ending, but it is a powerful closing message for me. This is everything the free people of Middle Earth were fighting for. The revolt needed the voices of some heroic figures, but it was achieved by the collective action of people of the Shire.
In a similar vein, my interest in Dungeons & Dragons has waned slightly. The story the game encourages you to tell is one of ever increasing power and the accumulation of wealth.
In stark contrast, I was very excited to back Stonetop on Kickstarter:
The players portray the heroes of an isolated village near the edge of the known world. Their adventures focus on dealing with threats to the village and seizing opportunities. These aren’t rootless mercenaries seeking fortune and glory; they’re exceptional people, taking risks on behalf of their friends, family, and neighbors.
There is no point going off in search of greater treasures if there is no home to return to. Mörk Borg achieves a similar thing by building in a finite ending to the world with the Calendar of Nechrubel. There is no point restoring your dignity if there is no world to be respected in.
Thinking about these form the perspective of Roger Callois’ categorisation of games, there is a shift from ilinx (competition) to alea(imagination). Not so much between players, but no longer competing with the world, instead relating to it and contributing to it. Shout out to Līber Lūdōrum for prompting this stab at critical analysis though because I’ve only just started reading the book.
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Here’s a few books I’ve got on order:
- And Away by Bob Mortimer - This autobiography was always going to be required reading.
- Is it really green? by Georgina Wilson-Powell - Looks like a practical guide to the tiny and humongous ways we can think about and help the environment.
- Mordew by Alex Pheby - My friend Lee recommended this and when Lee recommends a fantasy book you know he means it.
- Come Join Our Disease by Sam Byers - I enjoyed Perfidious Albion and I trust that this will be fabulous also.
- Luster by Raven Leilani - This was recommended from numerous places including the longlist for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, but this interview about Leilani’s writing and role-playing games sold it for me
- Big Time by Jen Spyra - Sounded a bit like Simon Rich’s Spoiled Brats and thought it might be worth a shot.