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Apr 09, 2008

Kirk rated it:

Everyone in the world should read this book and everyone who lives in a consumer obsessed society like the United States should be forced too. I'm only half way through this book and already know that this is possibly one of the most important books I have read in my life. Not only does it clearly and logically present everything that is wrong with our obsessiveness with producing more and doing it faster, which most every socially conscious person is already aware of, it also lays out very cl More...

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Mar 27, 2010

Kris rated it:

I had very high expectations for this book, perhaps that's why I ended up disliking it so much. I almost want to read it again just so I can tally up all of its faults. First off, the author should have had an economist review it. For being a book about the economy, I found its treatment of economics very poor. Anyone with a different viewpoint on economics could poke car-sized holes through most of his arguments. The vast majority of his evidence for various points he tries to make is anec More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Sep 24, 2007

Melissa rated it:

McKibben's premise is fairly simple. Our current economic model is based on encouraging as much growth as possible. McKibben contends that the equation more = better is simply not true any longer. Encouraging growth at all costs has been the American way since the Industrial Revolution and it served us extremely well for quite awhile. Additionally, it is still an important economic model for developing nations who haven't yet reached a comfortable standard of living for most of their citize More...

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Sep 07, 2007

Doug rated it:

When I saw the title "Deep Economy" I had a sort of fascination as if I were watching a train wreck.

Surely it would be pushing for radical socialism for the sake of radical environmentalism. Instead Bill McKibben wrote a book I'm still grappling with.

His first line of attack is economic growth itself.

First he argues economic growth is unsustainable. This is his strongest argument in the short-term but his weakest argument over-the-long haul.

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Apr 06, 2007

Alexandra rated it:

I really enjoyed the chapter on local food and McKibben's analysis of the heavy oil inputs into our subsidized corn-fed food chain. Otherwise, this is a cliche and shrill regurgitation of the already nauseating _Bowling Alone_, Michael Pollan's excellent _Omnivore's Dilemma_, and all anti-Wal-Mart sentiment that comes from overeducated champagne liberals in small towns like Middlebury, VT, Boulder, CO and Ann Arbor, MI.

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Apr 14, 2009

Quintessential rated it:

Throughly engrossing, thought-provoking and full of great ideas about how to change your life in a world of globilization, Bill McKibben's book might just be in my Top Ten Life-Changing Books of all time. His thesis is simple: consume less, buy local (grow your own if you can), become part of a community and live with Thoreavian purpose. He describes with frightening clarity how large corporations and the government have destroyed the little guy and stripped us of what makes our lives most mea More...

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Mar 13, 2009

David rated it:

Deep Economy will force you to reevaluate your purchasing patterns and (hopefully) your consumer behavior. He illustrates that the current economic model most nations are using may end up with many more losers than winners. While the world is growing at an enormous rate, we are consuming at an enormous rate. He illustrates how unsustainable this is for the US and the arsenal of countries on the verge of becoming developed.

In exchange, he offers a new way of looking at economics. He d More...

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Feb 02, 2009

Justin rated it:

The rise of a new economics. That is what McKibben succeeds in describing through Deep Economy. After years of the 'Cult of Growth' dominating modern US politics, the Vermont environmental writer argues that its time we invest in our communities. Perhaps the wonders of globalization argued for by the likes of Friedman, Krugman and countless others are really just creating an illusion of wealth, economic growth that is merely overshoot and and consistent undermining of the communities that build More...

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Jan 07, 2009

Stop added it

Read the STOP SMILING interview with Deep Economy author Bill McKibben:

(This interview originally appeared in the STOP SMILING Gambling Issue)

In 12 books and countless magazine articles written over the last quarter century, Bill McKibben has tracked and suggested a way to alleviate the impact of human life on the natural world. In doing so, he has emerged as one of our most trenchant environmental writers and campaigners: Over the past few years, he has organized the lar More...

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Jan 06, 2009

Nate rated it:

McKibben does a good job I think of confronting the assumption that growth is necessary for the economy. The cult of growth, which has held thorough control over media and government perspectives on economic policy accepts no counter policy for debate. Alternative measures to "save" the economy may be discussed, but few politicians or media mouthpieces dare to question the necessity of growth altogether.

The cult of growth claims that GDP growth provides progress, which make More...

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Oct 25, 2008

Jessica rated it:

I picked up Deep Economy as a sort of economic primer, hoping to become a bit more fluent in the language of acquisitions and nets and grosses. I also hoped that Bill McKibben would help me find a better response to those who still haven't converted to the cult of buying local. And in the first chapter, Bill McKibben clarifies GDP and GNP just enough to then claim that economics is much, much more than acronyms that try to measure the quest for monetary growth. Part personal challenge, part econ More...

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Feb 05, 2009

Bookmarks Magazine added it

In offering straightforward solutions to the looming environmental crisis, Bill McKibben has marched directly into the middle of a heated debate. Critics' personal beliefs and politics shaped their reviews, which described Deep Economy as, alternately, a "masterfully crafted, deeply thoughtful and mind-expanding treatise" (Los Angeles Times) and a "book-length sermon on what is wrong with the way we live" (San Francisco Chronicle). Some reviewers found McKibben's solutions pr

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Nov 22, 2008

Aaron rated it:

McKibben explores the moral consequences of hyperindividualism where ones own pursuits limits the freedoms of others. He shows how we are literally consuming ourselves out of existence.

He documents the trend of our culture moving towards a community oriented life and demonstrates that our current economic models do not adequately account for our happyness and quality of life.

This is not a doom and gloom book, rather the author points to emerging trends that suggest that w More...

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Feb 10, 2009

Charlie rated it:

McKibben presents a view that I have increasingly found myself taking lately: why can't we just have enough instead of making ourselves crazy and our world toxic struggling to have more? He does a wonderful job of making the philosophical argument for slowing down. I don't have sufficient economic knowledge to judge his arguments in that realm. I found his anecdotal evidence compelling, but I could not easily discern how these small projects and groups might have scaled up. Also, I would have li More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Mar 15, 2009

Alex rated it:

Very good book. It puts together and links multiple topics that usually stand alone in one book (ie Omnivores dillema, Small is beautiful). Makes the point that the majority of the world is driven by large scale economics, growth and one size fits all solutions. He questions this and feels it is important to incorporate the happiness of populations as a measure of how the world is progressing. Claims that people are "hyper individuals" and that through reforming communites people c More...

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Nov 07, 2011

Eliz rated it:

Bill McKibben illuminates familiar truths about the unsustainability of our current system of endless growth and endless consumption with terrifyingly specific examples that span the globe. He advocates for local economies on human scale, small enough to be answerable and mobile to the individuals who compose them. This book reminded me of why I choose to not eat meat and why it is always important to buy local and eat local. McKibben's encouragement to wake up from the hypnotic lull of economi More...

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May 07, 2010

Adama rated it:

12) are you puzzling or confused about anything in the story? what is it that confuses you, and why do you find it confusing
in on part, he says that the opulent country expense millions and millions to save the environment clean:''the air fresh''. he says also that more we get rich more we get dirty. he means that the wealthy nation damage the environment more tha the poor country. i think there is a little paradox because rich countries try to save the environment clean by using millions More...

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Mar 17, 2010

Luke rated it:

I almost gave up on this book several times. I'm just not a big fan of the author's writing style. Endless streams of anecdotes that in some cases don't even seem to relate. Paragraphs that go on for full pages, and chapter 50+ page chapters. It was not an easy read for me, not because of language, but because of structure and flow.

I liked the book for it's ability to add anecdotal evidence to an idea I already believed in - that economics does not dictate well being. Even tho More...

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Dec 01, 2009

William rated it:

Towards the end of the book, McKibben says something to extent of, "well, you might say this is all anecdotal." And, for me, too much of the book was just that. Many of his arguments were based in popular science, almost like they were meant to convince anyone who was reading, even if they didn't have much background knowledge about what he was writing about. Very little by way of exhaustive, highly structured argument. Yet, the underlying truth that McKibben is writing about is ve More...

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Feb 10, 2012

Michael rated it:

When a green thinker and activist can find common cause with a conservative Catholic, you know something big has to be going on (more on that in a moment). Bill McKibben is one of my favorite writers, and one of my favorite people. He's the founder of 350.org, a highly effective environmental organization, as well as the author of The End of Nature, which--20 years ago--introduced the world to the idea of climate change. His writing style is informative, funny, and filled with both insight and w More...

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May 03, 2011

Daniel rated it:

An important book that challenges your view of the world and our economy; it was published before the economic crisis of 2008, and in retrospect it is downright prescient. Its central theorem is simple: happiness and sustainability come not from pure economic growth, but by the nurturing of communities and a sense of belonging. The argument is superbly supported by a series of examples, both in North America and abroad. The result is a hopeful, optimistic, yet urgent manifesto for our times.

Note More...

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Apr 30, 2009

Thomas rated it:

Boys and girls, this book is HOT! Simply a must read. Read it.

Our current growth-based global economy is unsustainable. But local, community-based economies have the potential to make people prosperous and happy without imperiling the biosphere or cultural/bio diversity. They're also adaptable to local conditions and democratic feedback, unlike our current system. Even better: they'll prove useful when the oil runs out!

In the course of his argument McKibben picked up on More...

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Jul 13, 2009

ben rated it:

Thomas Friedman from a more of a lefty/environmental perspective. Lots of nice uplifting anecdotes about local responses to globalization and the "modern" economy. Basically his argument comes down to the idea that we need more community-based economy, and to stop focusing on "growth" and our myopic view of "efficiency". These are not really new ideas, but he does a decent job of looking at the bigger picture of economics and society. I liked his analysis of Wal-Mar More...

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Jul 24, 2010

Robert rated it:

The introduction to the book was interesting as it brought about it's entire thesis of the economist's terms of what More and Better are. It also suggests that in the past century certain powerful countries have been concerned only with More. A lot of crazy info for you, enjoy...

Pg 3: We need economics to mature as a discipline.
Pg 4: The old realism- an endless More- is morphing into a dangerous fantasy.
Pg 11: The median wage in the U.S. is the same as it was thirty years More...

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May 15, 2010

Wayne rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 24, 2009

Dezra rated it:

I get the impression that this book was written for the masses to understand. The premise is laudable and something I believe in but the content seems a bit oversimplified and alarmist in nature, which made it difficult for me to accept. But because he does such a good job in making the state of our economic future understandable, it is an excellent and accessible book. I am not a farmer, not even a gardener, but I've been eying a plot of sun-rich ground in my backyard that could do with some we More...

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Oct 21, 2011

Nick rated it:

Despite the fact that it was a general-audience book about economics, I liked "Deep Economy" a lot. McKibben articulates his ideas clearly and organizes them well, and in doing so, manages to avoid into traps that commonly afflict writers that express skepticism about technological development and/or economic growth.

While obviously not academically rigorous, McKibben builds his argument from premises that I find quite robust. First, human beings derive value both from materia More...

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Apr 02, 2009

Matthew rated it:

Very promising start, and many excellent anecdotes/examples, but didn't really throw up new conclusions. McKibben is all about the local economy -- discosure: I'm very much a supporter of this idea.

Problem is: what does that do to global trade and employment in developing countries? He raises this point in the introduction, and later tries to address it in the final chapters by pointing out examples of sustainable hyperlocal mini-economies in developing countries. There are many inte More...

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Sep 05, 2010

Lindsey rated it:

Bill McKibben is one of the authors I trust most for clear-headed, thoroughly researched, and well written analyses of many of society's most pressing issues. In this book, he focuses on the fact that More is no longer leading to Better in the U.S.--instead we are becoming less satisfied with our lives, and at a basic level, less happy. As a solution, he presents many anecdotes showing people turning away from what he calls "hyper-individualism" and returning to a stronger emphasis o More...

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Jul 19, 2008

Patadave rated it:

If you've never been exposed to environmentalism or green philosophy this work can serve as a general introduction. But, frankly, who hasn't been exposed to this stuff?

A thin work of popular journalism with no substantive economic analysis at all.

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