The Day the World Stops Shopping
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A FINALIST FOR THE 2021 GOVERNOR GENERAL'S AWARD FOR NONFICTION
In a brilliant work of imaginative non-fiction, prize-winning author J.B. MacKinnon asks what would happen--to our economy, our ecology, our products, our selves--if we stopped consuming so much? Is that alternative world one we might actually want to live in?
"We can't stop shopping. And yet we must. This is the consumer dilemma."
The planet says we consume too much: in North America, we burn the earth's resources at a rate five times faster than they can regenerate. And despite our efforts to "green" our consumption--by recycling, increasing energy efficiency, or using solar power--we have yet to see a decline in global carbon emissions.
The economy says we must always consume more, because, as we've seen in the pandemic, even the slightest drop in spending leads to widespread unemployment, bankruptcy and home foreclosures.
Addressing this paradox head-on, J.B. MacKinnon asks, What would really happen if we simply stop shopping? Is there a way to reduce our consumption to earth-saving levels without triggering an economic collapse?
At first, this question took him around the world, seeking answers: from America's big-box stores, to the hunter-gatherer cultures of Namibia, to communities in Ecuador that consume at an exactly sustainable rate. Then his thought experiment came shockingly true, as the coronavirus brought shopping to a halt and MacKinnon's ideas were tested in real time.
Drawing on experts ranging from economists to climate scientists to corporate CEOs, MacKinnon investigates how living with less would change our planet, our society and ourselves. Along the way, he reveals just how much we stand to gain.
Imaginative and inspiring, The Day the World Stops Shopping will empower you to imagine another way.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Journalist MacKinnon (The Once and Future World) delivers an intriguing report on the "consumer dilemma": in order to prevent ecological disaster, humans must significantly reduce their consumption of the planet's natural resources, yet doing so would be disastrous for the world economy as it's currently structured. MacKinnon tackles this paradox by drawing on research from the fields of anthropology, psychology, biology, and economics to imagine what would happen if consumer spending suddenly dropped by 25%. A visit to the last U.S. county to enforce "blue laws" banning the sale of most consumer goods on Sundays leads to a discussion of how time seems to "broaden and slow down" when commercial activities cease. MacKinnon also posits a connection between widespread racial justice protests in 2020 and a shift toward "intrinsic values" that occurred as a result of Covid-19 shutdowns, and interviews marine biologists who have studied how slowdowns in human activities have benefited endangered species including the North Atlantic right whale. Though MacKinnon underplays the shocks (unemployment, tax shortfalls, political discord) that such an economic disruption might incur, his thought experiment is well-researched and stimulating. Readers will be galvanized to make changes in their own buying habits.