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More from Less: The Surprising Story of How We Learned to Prosper Using Fewer Resources—and What Happens Next
by
From the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller The Second Machine Age, a compelling argument—masterfully researched and brilliantly articulated—that we have at last learned how to increase human prosperity while treading more lightly on our planet.
Throughout history, the only way for humanity to grow was by degrading the Earth: chopping down forests, fouling the air and water, ...more
Throughout history, the only way for humanity to grow was by degrading the Earth: chopping down forests, fouling the air and water, ...more
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Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
October 8th 2019
by Scribner
(first published 2019)
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Start your review of More from Less: The Surprising Story of How We Learned to Prosper Using Fewer Resources—and What Happens Next
Did you know the world's paper consumption peaked in 2013 and total global paper use has been declining ever since? Or that since 1982, America has taken an area the size of Washington State out of cultivation while simultaneously increasing total crop tonnage by 35%?
Welcome to the power of "dematerialization." I first encountered this idea while reading Buckminster Fuller's 1969 "Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth," although he called it "ephemeralization." MIT economist Andrew McAfee takes Bucky's idea ...more
Welcome to the power of "dematerialization." I first encountered this idea while reading Buckminster Fuller's 1969 "Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth," although he called it "ephemeralization." MIT economist Andrew McAfee takes Bucky's idea ...more
I was lucky enough to get an opportunity to attend an event to see Andrew McAfee speak about his book, so of course I had to read it first! He presents an optimistic world view that I can subscribe to. His thesis is that capitalism, technological progress, responsive government, and public awareness (the four horsemen of the optimist) have brought us to a point of dematerialization (we're increasing our well-being while shrinking our environmental footprint) and will continue to lead us down tha
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More from Less is a interesting book that has some good advice. Although there a several reputable scientists that would disagree with this author on many claims of his, such as we are emitting less gas etc.
The central thesis of this book is that four factors in modern times are leading humanity to live in better harmony with the planet, and that countries where these four factors come together, there is strong evidence of progress in the right direction. The four factors are capitalism, technological progress, responsive government and public awareness.
MIT professor of Economics, Andrew McAfee makes a compelling case for this with various research papers and solid data illustrating progressive de ...more
MIT professor of Economics, Andrew McAfee makes a compelling case for this with various research papers and solid data illustrating progressive de ...more
Important and timely for environmentalists to keep doing their good work
At a time when I hear from everyone that everything is wrong, it’s important to learn what is right, so we can do more of it. And at a time when I hear so often that there are too many people for the planet, it is important to learn how population growth is on a trajectory to harm the planet less - if only because historically people who saw no alternative put their efforts into people dying. Industrialisation has been ...more
At a time when I hear from everyone that everything is wrong, it’s important to learn what is right, so we can do more of it. And at a time when I hear so often that there are too many people for the planet, it is important to learn how population growth is on a trajectory to harm the planet less - if only because historically people who saw no alternative put their efforts into people dying. Industrialisation has been ...more
I love essay books like this. They’re quick, informative reads that help you rest your ideas against the evidence. I’m generally disposed to agree with the author’s arguments. He argues cogently that whole our current economic and social formula has issues, that it’s mostly in the right direction, and that while we should curb our excesses, revolution our fundamental reorganization would hurt more than it helps. Imho a very sober analysis of our time, acknowledging our issues without falling vic
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More From Less (2019) by Andrew McAfee is a very interesting look at how developed countries are now creating more economic value from less physical inputs. McAfee is a professor at MIT who wrote the acclaimed book 'The Second Machine Age'.
More From Less uses a lot of statistics to show that contrary to many expectations in about 1970 the developed world now uses substantially less paper, cropland and many other key physical inputs than it used to for substantially greater wealth. It ...more
More From Less uses a lot of statistics to show that contrary to many expectations in about 1970 the developed world now uses substantially less paper, cropland and many other key physical inputs than it used to for substantially greater wealth. It ...more
I love this style of techno-optimism and so I love this book. There are so many reasons to be optimistic about the world and Andrew McAfee added a couple more data points and stories to the conversation. He enumerates four forces that are rapidly improving the condition of the planet (capitalism, technology, responsive government, and public awareness). But he also mentions some problems, like the disconnection felt by more and more of society, that could threaten the progress of those forces. H
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Excellent, quick audiobook. Contrary to popular opinion we are NOT using more resources as our population and economy expands. Developing nations are going through a process of “dematerialization” as capitalism drives us to make cheaper goods which use fewer resources. A great example is your smart phone, a device which replaced dozens of other appliances.
This is a very fast read and an interesting, optimistic perspective on humankind and our demand for resources. Technology, capitalism, responsive governments, and public awareness are the components leading us to "peak stuff." Both Sam Harris and Russ Roberts have recently interviewed the author, if you're looking for a good preview.
An optimistic, upbeat, free marketer’s book. More such needed when we are constantly bombarded with dismal news on the climate change front. For myself it was a great follow-up to an Econ talk podcast from McAfee.
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“As recently as the time of Christ all of us humans together probably weighed only about two-thirds as much as all the bison in North America, and less than one-eighth as much as all the elephants in Africa.”
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“I’ve found that the book’s fundamental concept—that capitalism and tech progress are now allowing us to tread more lightly on the earth instead of stripping it bare—is hard for many people to accept.”
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