[(The Logic of Sufficiency)] [Author: Thomas Princen] published on

by Thomas Princen

What if modern society put a priority on the material security of its citizens and the ecological integrity of its resource base? What if it took ecological constraint as a given, not a hindrance but a source of long-term economic security? How would it organize itself, structure its industry, shape its consumption? Across time and across cultures, people actually have adapted to ecological constraint. They have changed behavior; they have built institutions. And they have developed norms and principles for their time. Today's environmental challenges -- at once global, technological, and commercial -- require new behaviors, new institutions, and new principles. In this highly original work, Thomas Princen builds one such sufficiency. Sufficiency is not about denial, not about sacrifice or doing without. Rather, when resource depletion and overconsumption are real, sufficiency is about doing well. It is about good work and good governance; it is about goods that are good only to a point. With examples ranging from timbering and fishing to automobility and meat production, Princen shows that sufficiency is perfectly sensible and yet absolutely contrary to modern society's dominant principle, efficiency. He argues that seeking enough when more is possible is both intuitive and rational -- personally, organizationally, and ecologically rational. And under global ecological constraint, it is ethical. Over the long term, an economy -- indeed a society -- cannot operate as if there's never enough and never too much.

Genres: Finance, Nonfiction, Environment, Sustainability, Economics

Paperback

First published September 30, 2005

Reviews

[NOLaBookish aka blue-collared mind · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book. I think the framework of scale is so necessary for all of us involved in community organizing to study- and this book approaches it from the elegant language of sufficiency (as opposed to efficiency) as the measure. The author argues that efficiency was useful for single mechanical solutions, but is not useful to use as a gauge to build complex systems. Looking at productivity alone as a measure leaves out whose benefit, level of finite resources used and the costs to extract in future.
Truly, efficiency is simply another arbitrary measure with its own hidden costs and subjective ratios applied. As the author says: " it has been elevated from a common sense idea to a dominant social principle." A good example is car use: often miles per gallon is used as an "efficiency" standard, even though dozens of other externalities change the true mpg of your car-from how your tire pressure is kept, to the type of roads you drive on, to the speed at which you drive. In other words, we use the term efficiency to showcase the best available system, and it does not always lead to that.
Farming is another excellent example of that, when"get big or get out" was the 1970s serious (and mostly well-meaning) idea of the industrial food system to feed more people and create wealth at home and yet, those efficiencies have led to more health dangers in food preparation, less farmers and farmland in most regions, leading to higher prices and mono cropping.

"(this book is) for those who accept the world's ecological constraints and believe human endeavor should be rated on quality of life issues."
More:
"we need to build sufficiency into decision-making and realize the logic of empire is the accumulation of private wealth, efficient extraction (being constant) and technological mastery.
Modern industrial society pays homage to the market, the factory and the laboratory.
The author looks at a few concrete examples of self regulating bodies using sufficiency as a organizing principle: Early timber company that added sustainable growth policies decades before others were forced to, lobstermen in Maine opting to catch seasonally and to ask for federal rules to self-manage those waters year round, residents on Ward's Island on island that decided to do without cars. I also liked the description of shotengai (mom and pop Japanese shopping districts) how they managed much of civil society post WW2, organizing festivals, supporting schools and being (as JJacobs has said famously) being the eyes on the street.

His chapter on the history of efficiency is charming and appropriate to study, especially the insight that Aristotle showed efficiency not as about speed or costs but that it was about the appropriateness of using the correct process.

I highly recommend this- although I am always aware of the danger of asking Americans to reduce anything or to slow things down. Resource management, dignity for labor and direct relationships between the users and the producers of goods is what goes along with sufficiency.

[Stacy Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely a timely book, as we get mislead by efficiency ratios in which the pushers of technology decide on the numerators and denominators. Princen's writing style, too, is by no means 'efficient.' The impact seems a little diminished because of the somewhat circular and repetitive thesis. Then again, maybe reading it while riding a stationary bike is not the best milieu for patience.

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Princen asks the un-askable, "How much is enough?" The legendary John D. Rockefeller answer of "Just a little more" is not the answer given by several real, living, and successful communities that have put environment, sustainability, and life-style ahead of pursuing a short term dollar. Well written and encouraging in an age of "Dystopian" views of the future.