Wild Democracy: Degrowth, Permaculture, and the Simpler Way

by Samuel Alexander

‘Wild Democracy is a daring and compelling collection of essays that explores the theory and practice of moving towards an equitable, post-growth society, and defends an alternative, post-consumerist account of human flourishing. Thoreau believed that ‘in wildness lies the preservation of the world’ and Samuel Alexander has shown us how we do this in our backyards, our local communities and our everyday practices. He has done Thoreau proud.’– Robyn Eckersley, author of 'The Green Rethinking Democracy and Sovereignty' ‘Building bridges between different schools of thought, Samuel Alexander outlines an alternative to the nightmare of a growth society racing towards collapse, articulating various post-capitalist approaches, between anarcho-marxism, wild democracy and spirituality. In doing so this book attempts to overcome the old divide between reformism and revolution.’– Serge Latouche, author of 'Farewell to Growth' 'Wild Degrowth, Permaculture, and the Simpler Way' is Samuel Alexander’s third volume of collected essays, following the publication of 'Prosperous Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits' (2015) and 'Sufficiency Enough, for Everyone, Forever' (2015). He is also author of 'Deface the The Lost Dialogues of Diogenes' (2016), 'Just Enough is Thoreau’s Alternative Economics' (2016), and ' Life Beyond Industrial Civilisation' (2013), as well as being editor of 'Voluntary The Poetic Alternative to Consumer Culture' (2009) and co-editor of 'Simple Living in Pioneers of the Deep Future' (2014) and 'Words for Voices of Inspired Revolt' (2017). For more details www.samuelalexander.info

212 pages, Paperback

Published September 21, 2017

About the author

Dr. Samuel Alexander, co-director of the Simplicity Institute, is a lecturer at the Office for Environmental Programs, University of Melbourne, Australia, teaching a course called ‘Consumerism and the Growth Economy: Interdisciplinary Perspectives’ into the Masters of Environment. He is also a Research Fellow with the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute. He is author of Prosperous Descent: Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits (2015) and Entropia: Life Beyond Industrial Civilisation (2013), and editor of Voluntary Simplicity: The Poetic Alternative to Consumer Culture (2009) and co-editor of Simple Living in History: Pioneers of the Deep Future (2014).

As well as his academic work, in recent years Sam has been working on a ‘simpler way’ demonstration project called Wurruk’an. He is also founder of the Simplicity Collective, a website and social network dedicated to exploring the relationships between voluntary simplicity, energy descent, and post-growth / degrowth economics. Dr. Alexander’s PhD thesis, conducted through Melbourne Law School, is entitled “Property beyond Growth: Toward a Politics of Voluntary Simplicity”.