More From Less, Andrew McAfee
More From Less, Andrew McAfee
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More From Less
How We Learned to Create More Without Using More

Author: Andrew McAfee

Narrator: Andrew McAfee

Unabridged: 7 hr 57 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/08/2019


Synopsis

From the coauthor of the New York Times bestseller The Second Machine Age, a paradigm-shifting argument “full of fascinating information and provocative insights” (Publishers Weekly, starred review)—demonstrating that we are increasing prosperity while using fewer natural resources.

Throughout history, the only way for humanity to grow was by degrading the Earth: chopping down forests, polluting the air and water, and endlessly using up resources. Since the first Earth Day in 1970, the focus has been on radically changing course: reducing our consumption, tightening our belts, and learning to share and reuse. Is that argument correct?

Absolutely not. In More from Less, McAfee argues that to solve our ecological problems we should do the opposite of what a decade of conventional wisdom suggests. Rather than reduce and conserve, we should rely on the cost-consciousness built into capitalism and the streamlining miracles of technology to create a more efficient world.

America—a large, high-tech country that accounts for about 25% of the global economy—is now generally using less of most resources year after year, even as its economy and population continue to grow. What’s more, the US is polluting the air and water less, emitting fewer greenhouse gases, and replenishing endangered animal populations. And, as McAfee shows, America is not alone. Other countries are also transforming themselves in fundamental ways.

What has made this turnabout possible? One thing, primarily: the collaboration between technology and capitalism, although good governance and public awareness have also been critical. McAfee does warn of issues that haven’t been solved, like global warming, overfishing, and communities left behind as capitalism and tech progress race forward. But overall, More from Less is a revelatory and “deeply engaging” (Booklist) account of how we’ve stumbled into an unexpectedly better balance with nature—one that holds out the promise of more abundant and greener centuries ahead.

About Andrew McAfee

Andrew McAfee is a principal research scientist at MIT Sloan School of Management and the cofounder and codirector of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy, where he studies how digital technologies are changing business, the economy, and society. He has discussed his work at such venues as TED, the Aspen Ideas Festival, and the World Economic Forum. His prior books include the New York Times bestseller The Second Machine Age and Machine, Platform, Crowd. He lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Bradley on January 12, 2020

Upon reading this, I must balance two reactions very carefully. I agree with the basic premise that ON THE WHOLE, dire poverty across the world has reduced and a lot of this has to do with the free exchange of goods MINUS the looters who exploit the system OR external negatives such as unrestrained......more

Goodreads review by Andrej on March 03, 2020

A fairly unconvincing, high level, pop-econ take on dematerialization in the economy. The first 7 chapters lay out the context: Malthusian condition, the Industrial Revolution, Earth Day, etc. Chapter 5,6,7 form the core of the book where we are treated to some pretty sketchy diagrams with everythin......more

Goodreads review by Adam on May 14, 2020

I've been doing a lot of reading on population and sustainability lately, and coming around to the position that Julian Simon might have been more right than I would ever have imagined possible 10 years ago. Maybe it is actually possible that technology and economic growth could, counter to all intu......more

Goodreads review by Siddhartha on December 12, 2019

Books like this, Better Angels of our Nature, Abundance, etc. are an excellent tonic to help recalibrate outlooks on current affairs. You may not agree with the four horsemen theory (I do and I love the coopted imagery of doomsday put in the service of thwarting Armageddon), but you will probably ta......more

Goodreads review by Laurent on January 16, 2020

It is sometimes really difficult to give final marks to a book written by an academic that is targeting a general public. Should we evaluate the book for what we have personally learned from it or what someone outside our field can be expected to learn from it? McAfee joins the group of authors such......more