The Day the World Stops Shopping, J.B. MacKinnon
The Day the World Stops Shopping, J.B. MacKinnon
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The Day the World Stops Shopping
How Ending Consumerism Saves the Environment and Ourselves

Author: J.B. MacKinnon

Narrator: Kaleo Griffith

Unabridged: 11 hr 54 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: HarperAudio

Published: 05/25/2021


Synopsis

Consuming less is our best strategy for saving the planet—but can we do it? In this thoughtful and surprisingly optimistic book, journalist J. B. MacKinnon investigates how we may achieve a world without shopping.

We can’t stop shopping. And yet we must. This is the consumer dilemma. The economy says we must always consume more: even the slightest drop in spending leads to widespread unemployment, bankruptcy, and home foreclosure.The planet says we consume too much: in America, we burn the earth’s resources at a rate five times faster than it can regenerate. And despite 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.Addressing this paradox head-on, acclaimed journalist J. B. MacKinnon asks, What would really happen if we simply stopped shopping? Is there a way to reduce our consumption to earth-saving levels without triggering 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 the thought experiment came shockingly true: the coronavirus brought shopping to a halt, and MacKinnon’s ideas were tested in real time.Drawing from experts in fields ranging from climate change to economics, 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: An investment in our physical and emotional wellness. The pleasure of caring for our possessions. Closer relationships with our natural world and one another. Imaginative and inspiring, The Day the World Stops Shopping will embolden you to envision another way.

About J.B. MacKinnon

J. B. MacKinnon is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the New Yorker, National Geographic, and the Atlantic, as well as the Best American Science and Nature Writing anthologies. He is also the author of four books of nonfiction, including the bestselling Plenty (with Alisa Smith), widely recognized as a catalyst of the local foods movement. He lives in Vancouver, Canada.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Jennie on August 17, 2021

The Day the World Stops Shopping is the perfect union of environmentalism, business, and sociology. It explores the idea of consumerism, tracing back to the roots of monetary invention and societal progress. This book takes on a controversial issue without the fear of getting down to the dirty parts......more

Goodreads review by Jay on August 26, 2021

This is one of the most important books I’ve read in a long time. The author does a ‘thought experiment’ where he imagines the world cutting its consumption of goods by 25%, and interviews a number of experts on the expected consequences. In the process he discusses the impact endlessly rising consu......more

Goodreads review by Luca on July 23, 2021

4.5 This book has a detoxifying effect. It is thought-provoking and encourages self-reflection to the extent that you will have second thoughts every time you go shopping or turn on the AC. And not necessarily in a stressful way, but from a stance of considering the "enough-ness" of your life, to bo......more

Goodreads review by Chan on November 16, 2021

This was a well researched and extremely thought-provoking book that was nevertheless lacking in good structure or a logical progression toward a conclusion. I would recommend it purely for the information and perspective it contains, though I caution the reader not to expect brilliant epiphanies or......more

Goodreads review by Wendy on August 04, 2021

This book is so compelling and easy to read it bumped aside all the fiction I was reading this week. MacKinnon travels the world to look at the way consumerism twines its way through every aspect of our culture, but also examines the effects of the 2020 pandemic on shopping and the natural world. It......more