Select language, opens an overlay

Comment

Curing Affluenza

How to Buy Less Stuff and Save the World
Community comment are the opinions of contributing users. These comment do not represent the opinions of the Edmonton Public Library.
May 25, 2019EricTheMailman rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Like Enough is Enough this book takes a look at our current capitalist system and suggests changes to allow humanity to live in harmony with the Earth's ecosystem. In both books, it is stressed that it is the ecosystem that has allowed us to create our current economic system. One of the ideas that really gave me pause was money; it was invented by humans and has no relationship to the environment, it only has value because we've all agreed to it. If we continue to destroy resources in pursuit of money there will be consequences. But we already know that. Curing Affluenza takes a closer look at needed changes to our current capitalist system and points to the benefit of the service industries, how government services are not as bad as the press and private industry claim and how the pursuit of more stuff is part of the problem. Dennis claims that we must change how we identify ourselves from "consumers" to "citizens" that are part of a larger whole. Changes are needed and coming but it doesn't mean it's the end of the world. It has happened many times before, think of how society radically changed after WWII. The only lingering worry is whether we've done too much damage to our planet already. I highly recommend this book.