In Plenitude <http://www.julietschor.org/the-book/>: The New Economics of
True Wealth, economist and bestselling author Juliet B. Schor offers a
groundbreaking intellectual statement about the economics and sociology of
ecological decline, suggesting a radical change in how we think about
consumer goods, value, and ways to live.
Humans are degrading the planet far faster than they are regenerating it. As
we travel along this shutdown path, food, energy, transport and consumer
goods are becoming increasingly expensive. The economic downturn that has
accompanied the ecological crisis has led to another type of scarcity:
incomes, jobs, and credit are also in short supply. Our usual way back to
growth — a debt-financed consumer boom — is no longer an option our
households, or planet, can afford.
Responding to our current moment, Plenitude puts sustainability at its core,
but it is not a paradigm of sacrifice. Instead it’s an argument that through
a major shift to new sources of wealth, green technologies, and different
ways of living, individuals and the country as a whole can actually be
better off and more economically secure.
And as Schor observes, Plenitude is already emerging. In pockets around the
country and the world, people are busy creating lifestyles that offer a way
out of the work and spend cycle. These pioneers’ lives are scarce in
conventional consumer goods and rich in the newly abundant resources of
time, information, creativity and community. Urban farmers, D.I.Y
renovators, Craig’s List users, cob builders — all are spreading their risk
and establishing novel sources of income and outlets for procuring consumer
goods. Taken together, these trends represent a movement away from the
conventional market and offer a way toward an efficient, rewarding life in
an era of high prices and traditional resource scarcity.
Based on recent developments in economic theory, social analysis, and
ecological design, as well as evidence from the cutting edge people and
places putting these ideas into practice, Plenitude is a road map for the
next two decades. In encouraging us to value our gifts — nature, community,
intelligence, and time — Schor offers the opportunity to participate in
creating a world of wealth and well-being.
- *Born to Buy: The Commercialized Child*
- *The New Consumer Culture*
- *The Overworked American: The Unexpected Decline of Leisure* [1993]
- *The Overspent American: Upscaling, Downshifting and the New Consumer*
[1999]
- *Do Americans Shop too Much?*
- *Plentitude* [2010]
She co-edited:
- *The Golden Age of Capitalism: Reinterpreting the Postwar Experience*
- *The Consumer Society Reader*
- *Sustainable Planet: Solutions for the 21st Century*
[permaculture] Juliet Schor: Harvard and Boston academic, economist on permaculture, transition, cooperatives etc, what she calls Plenitude,
Nicholas Roberts, Permaculture.coop, 06/15/2010