Kaeli's Book Review of Jason Hickel's Less is More

Less is More by Jason Hickel explores the origins of capitalism, and its pervasive hold on global economic systems. By examining phenomena, such as growthism, cultural hegemony, and the capitalocene, Hickel seeks to bring awareness to the causes of ecological breakdown and shift economies back into balance through the practice of degrowth. Hickel argues that the root of these problems is compounding growth and the need for constant expansion at the expense of everything else. In the first half of this book, Hickel provides insight into how capitalism has evolved over time, using case studies to illuminate the complexities and impacts of the current economic system. Then, in the second half, Hickel transitions to discussing potential solutions and ways forward beyond capitalism and growth.

Hickel sets the stage with a chapter on eco-facts, which discuss the heavy realities of mass extinction, global temperature rise, and irreversible ecological thresholds. This introduction grounds the reader in the realities of a changing world, and puts into perspective how quickly and seriously humans are pushing life-giving systems towards ecological thresholds. This section is important because it asks the reader to reflect on how they feel about the onslaught of concerning, yet oddly familiar, studies about our changing world. While some eco-facts are more widely known, such as the impacts of sea level rise on low lying countries, others are perhaps less known, like how temperature rise could cause glaciers to melt in the Himalaya, and cause severe droughts and food shortages in India and many other parts of the world. Hickel’s deliberate use of these examples allows readers to start understanding how they have begun to accept these eco-facts as realities, instead of engaging with them, as a method of coping and survival. Hickel acknowledges this feeling of emotional dissonance by ending the introduction with a simple, yet powerful, message: “the ultimate eco-fact is never going to arrive. It’s never going to be good enough” (p. 16). Ultimately, this section of the book asks readers to engage with the cultural hegemony of eco-facts as a step towards engaging with growthism and capitalism.

Moving on, Hickel discusses the main argument of the book, which is that capitalism developed over time in response to interconnected political, economic, and social factors, and has led to unchecked growth and consumption. Hickel argues that the combination of excessive consumption and perceived separation from the “natural environment” has caused many, if not all, of the problems that humans are facing today. One main theme throughout the book is the concept of “fixes” which are the result of the expansion of capitalism. He notes that every time capital runs into “barriers to accumulation”, it seeks out new resources (land, resources, people) to feed its growth. Hickel argues that many events, terrible in their own right, such as the Atlantic slave trade, western expansion of the United States, and the Opium Wars in China, are all the result of capital’s growth imperative (p. 90). Capitalism finds new resources and markets to consume and exploit because it has to in order to survive. It can never consume “enough” to be satisfied.

This explanation of “fixes” helps the reader understand the embeddedness of growth and expansion within capitalism. Hickel explains how the rise and acceptance of gross domestic product (GDP) as an indicator of economic success within capitalism, has only exacerbated growth and colonialism. As Hickel notes, GDP, “tallies up the market value of total production, but it doesn’t care whether that production is helpful or harmful” (p. 92). He argues that the Global North continues to use GDP as an excuse for harmful expansion that continues to exploit the people and resources of the Global South, stating that material footprint of the Global North is expanding at an unsustainable rate, which has now grown to include the atmospheric commons, where the effects of climate change are especially concentrated. By providing the reader with the history and motivations behind capitalism, Hickel prepares readers for the second half of the book, which focuses on solutions.

In the second half of Less is More, Hickel transitions to discuss strategies to engage with the degrowth movement, including ending planned obsolescence, cutting advertising, shifting from ownership to usership, ending food waste, and scaling down ecologically destructive industries (p. 209). While all of these solutions are helpful for considering opportunities for degrowth, they are also reminiscent of other “fixes” that have been tried in the past. As Hickel mentioned earlier in the book, attempts to shift away from capitalism have met with “fixes” which oftentimes lead to widespread and unintended consequences, mostly for the Global South. This leaves the reader to wonder what types of pushback degrowth strategies will inevitably cause. Cultural hegemony is incredibly strong and limiting. Considering that over four years have passed since Less is More was published, it would be interesting to see how the book would be written now, given the current political and economic climate of the world. Hickel specifically mentions that democracy is one of the most important tools for preserving common wealth and resources. This leads the reader to question “which democratic paths to degrowth still exist?”

Finally, in chapter six, Hickel finishes the book with a chapter on “everything is connected”. While most of Hickel’s narrative is strong and compelling, his final chapter leaves something to be desired. In this section, he discusses seemingly scattered examples of a second scientific revolution involving bacteria and post-capitalism ethics. While these topics are interesting, they seem thematically disconnected from the rest of the text, appearing as short, semi-related afterthoughts. It may have been more impactful to focus on one important theme in the remaining pages, perhaps the “power of democracy” discussed in the previous chapter.

In the end, Less is More is a helpful introduction to the degrowth movement. Hickel provides a framework for understanding capitalism for readers who may have not engaged with the topic in the past. While this book is a good place to start learning about these themes, Less is More needs to be accompanied by other resources that provide more specific and tangible ways of engaging with the degrowth movement. Overall, this book was very eye opening, thought provoking, and a little frustrating in terms of suggesting future action.