Home
/
Non-Fiction
/
Less is More
Less is More
Apr 20, 2025 9:32 AM

Author:Jason Hickel

Less is More

'A powerfully disruptive book for disrupted times ... If you're looking for transformative ideas, this book is for you.' KATE RAWORTH, economist and author of Doughnut Economics

A Financial Times Book of the Year

______________________________________

Our planet is in trouble. But how can we reverse the current crisis and create a sustainable future? The answer is: DEGROWTH.

Less is More is the wake-up call we need. By shining a light on ecological breakdown and the system that's causing it, Hickel shows how we can bring our economy back into balance with the living world and build a thriving society for all. This is our chance to change course, but we must act now.

______________________________________

'A masterpiece... Less is More covers centuries and continents, spans academic disciplines, and connects contemporary and ancient events in a way which cannot be put down until it's finished.' DANNY DORLING, Professor of Geography, University of Oxford

'Jason is able to personalise the global and swarm the mind in the way that insects used to in abundance but soon shan't unless we are able to heed his beautifully rendered warning.' RUSSELL BRAND

'Jason Hickel shows that recovering the commons and decolonizing nature, cultures, and humanity are necessary conditions for hope of a common future in our common home.' VANDANA SHIVA, author of Making Peace With the Earth

'This is a book we have all been waiting for. Jason Hickel dispels ecomodernist fantasies of "green growth". Only degrowth can avoid climate breakdown. The facts are indisputable and they are in this book.' GIORGIS KALLIS, author of Degrowth

'Capitalism has robbed us of our ability to even imagine something different; Less is More gives us the ability to not only dream of another world, but also the tools by which we can make that vision real.' ASAD REHMAN, director of War on Want

'One of the most important books I have read ... does something extremely rare: it outlines a clear path to a sustainable future for all.' RAOUL MARTINEZ, author of Creating Freedom

'Jason Hickel takes us on a profound journey through the last 500 years of capitalism and into the current crisis of ecological collapse. Less is More is required reading for anyone interested in what it means to live in the Anthropocene, and what we can do about it.' ALNOOR LADHA, co-founder of The Rules

'Excellent analysis...This book explores not only the systemic flaws but the deeply cultural beliefs that need to be uprooted and replaced.'ADELE WALTON

Reviews

Jason is able to personalise the global and swarm the mind with ideas ... Heed his beautifully rendered warning.

—— Russell Brand

A powerfully disruptive book for disrupted times. Jason Hickel takes all we've been been told about growth and development and turns it inside out, offering instead a radically possible vision of a post-growth future. If you're looking for transformative ideas, this book is for you.

—— Kate Raworth, economist and author of Doughnut Economics

A masterpiece pulling together the ecological disaster wake-up call from The Uninhabitable Earth, the economic enlightenment from Piketty's Capital, and the colonial history from Jason's own The Divide. Just ace.

—— David Heinemeier Hansson

Eye-opening and passionate, Jason Hickel shows how the insatiable drive to increase GDP has caused the ecological crisis, reveals the historical and colonial roots of capitalism and argues that an ecologically sensitive economic based on 'degrowth' is essential for us to flourish.

—— New Scientist

A masterpiece... Less is More covers centuries and continents, spans academic disciplines, and connects contemporary and ancient events in a way which cannot be put down until it's finished. So much needs to change; although beginning that change might require nothing more than asking the right question.

—— Danny Dorling, Professor of Geography, University of Oxford

This is a book we have all been waiting for. Jason Hickel dispels ecomodernist fantasies of 'green growth'. Only degrowth can avoid climate breakdown. The facts are indisputable and they are in this book.

—— Giorgos Kallis, Professor of Ecological Economics and author of Degrowth

Jason Hickel shows that recovering the commons and decolonizing nature, cultures, and humanity are necessary conditions for hope of a common future in our common home. By extracting less we leave more for other species, other people and future generations, thus creating well-being for all. In an ecologically interconnected world, less is more.

—— Vandana Shiva, philosopher of physics and author of Making Peace with the Earth

Jason Hickel takes us on a profound journey through the last 500 years of capitalism and into the current crisis of ecological collapse. He lays out how we can transition to a post-capitalist economy, but also reminds us that there are other ways of knowing and being that hold the secret to a better world. Less is More is required reading for anyone interested in what it means to live in the Anthropocene, and what we can do about it.

—— Alnoor Ladha, co-founder of The Rules

This riveting offering explores a world that has finally woken up to the reality of climate change and ecological collapse. Arguing that a change of thinking is desperately needed, he charts a path to a post-capitalist world and an economy that is more just, caring and fun.

—— The Sunday Post

A restorative and invigorating read for troubled times, Hickel inspires hope that there is in fact a different way to approach life and society. The global pandemic has made us realise we don't need to go back to the way it was, and this book offers up a vision of the future that we should aspire to. A must read for anyone sick of the egregious ills of the present day.

—— Wicked Leeks

Hickel's book is accessible and engagingly well written, with a good mix of anecdote, facts and argument

—— Steady State Manchester

A clear and compelling case for a post-growth economy.

—— Global Justice

A marvel of just under 300 pages in which, with undeniable literary talent, the author reviews the history of the last six centuries and how capitalism has always been sustained in search of an "external something" that would allow it to continue its expansion and accumulation.

—— El Salto

Hickel ... succeeds in outlining a fresh history of the epic struggle between capital and the commons ... A foreword by Extinction Rebellion, and a creditable argument linking the politics of degrowth to de-colonisation, imply a revolutionary moment must come, and soon.

—— Bella Caledonia

Jason Hickel argues shrinking economies is the way to avert climate catastrophe ... it's certainly persuasive.

—— Miranda Moore , The Herald

A thoroughly researched piece of long-form journalism… An interesting read.

—— Natalie Bowen , UK Press Syndication

Murphy offers a timely reminder of how we could enrich out lives and relationships if we redouble our efforts to listen to opposing views.

—— Lucy Popescu , Tablet

In an age when technology has made it easier than ever before to talk with each other, we've paradoxically become worse at listening. Fortunately, we have Kate Murphy to teach us how to reclaim this crucial skill. This book changed the way I think about communicating with the people who matter to me.

—— Cal Newport , New York Times bestselling author of Deep Work and Digital Minimalism

A timely intervention

—— Niki Seth-Smith , New Humanist

Warn, earnest, gently beseeching... Carefully read, Murphy's book might help us all pay more great compliments to the ones we love

—— M. M. Owen , Times Literary Supplement
Comments
Welcome to zzdbook comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.zzdbook.com All Rights Reserved