The Day the World Stops Shopping: How Ending Consumerism Saves the Environment and Ourselves

by J.B. MacKinnon Narrated by Kaleo Griffith

Overview

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.

Editorial Reviews

MAY 2021 - AudioFile

Narrator Kaleo Griffith is methodical, precise, and steady in his delivery of this look at the dangers of consumerism. He treats listeners to this in-depth examination of how current purchasing trends are intertwined with climate change. Griffith's narration has an academic tone that reflects this well-researched work. This will be a popular title for those who would like to become more informed while exercising or driving. The narration is easy on the ears, and Griffith helps make sense of the complex details. From African tribal lands to industrialized cities, ancient times to present day, he takes listeners through the history of human consumption. Listeners who are looking for motivation to change their purchasing habits could very well find what they need in this audiobook. M.R. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

03/01/2021

Journalist MacKinnon (The Once and Future World) delivers an intriguing report on the “consumer dilemma”: in order to prevent ecological disaster, humans must significantly reduce their consumption of the planet’s natural resources, yet doing so would be disastrous for the world economy as it’s currently structured. MacKinnon tackles this paradox by drawing on research from the fields of anthropology, psychology, biology, and economics to imagine what would happen if consumer spending suddenly dropped by 25%. A visit to the last U.S. county to enforce “blue laws” banning the sale of most consumer goods on Sundays leads to a discussion of how time seems to “broaden and slow down” when commercial activities cease. MacKinnon also posits a connection between widespread racial justice protests in 2020 and a shift toward “intrinsic values” that occurred as a result of Covid-19 shutdowns, and interviews marine biologists who have studied how slowdowns in human activities have benefited endangered species including the North Atlantic right whale. Though MacKinnon underplays the shocks (unemployment, tax shortfalls, political discord) that such an economic disruption might incur, his thought experiment is well-researched and stimulating. Readers will be galvanized to make changes in their own buying habits. (May)

From the Publisher

MacKinnon has a bricklayer’s talent for achieving beauty out of stacks of facts and statistics. . . . In wrestling with the realities of incremental change, examining our collective consumption and his own, MacKinnon says a great deal about what it is to be human during this moment on Earth, and how to live a meaningful life as one consumer among many. Surely part of the trick is to dare to imagine, as MacKinnon does, a scenario in which our prognosis improves, even a little.” — Sierra Magazine

“A well-researched and provocative analysis offering hope and optimism for our future." — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

"A journalist crafts an eloquent call to scale back shopping and consumption in wealthy countries, thereby allowing our exhausted planet a chance to heal and regenerate."   — Shelf Awareness

“Witty and erudite…. Expertly showing the complex relationship between consumer culture and nature, this insightful account offers a starting point for change (and optimism).” — Library Journal

“Well-researched and stimulating. Readers will be galvanized to make changes in their own buying habits.”  — Publishers Weekly

“J.B. MacKinnon’s The Day the World Stops Shopping is a welcome and rare mix: a strong environmental argument and a jaunty picaresque. For the former, MacKinnon makes a convincing case that we need to shop less now. Green consumerism, in MacKinnon’s telling, isn’t just about buying ecologically-sound stuff or recycling our rubbish. It’s about buying many fewer things, leaving us so much less to recycle in the first place. You will want to buy this book and after you read it, little else.”  — Alissa Quart, author of Squeezed: Why Our Families Can’t Afford America and Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers

"Dissecting the dilemma at civilization’s heart—the burden that reckless growth heaps upon the faltering Earth—J.B. MacKinnon lays out a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in a gripping, page-turning read. With wit, precision, and startling insights from around the world, he looks deeply into what we have done, and might do so much better. A model of clarity and grace, The Day the World Stops Shopping is one of the most important and well-written books I have read." — Ronald Wright, author of A Short History of Progress

"A provocative thought experiment that asks us to imagine what currently seems unthinkable, this is a beautifully written and rigorously researched revelation, an extraordinary creative journey to a place we urgently need to go. Full of hope and deep thought, unassuming and devoid of preaching, it is an exciting and truly inspiring read. I couldn’t put it down." — Joel Bakan, author of The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power and The New Corporation: How “Good” Corporations are Bad for Democracy

"In a large pool of often simplistic manuals for simple living, this book stands out for its curiosity, humanity and genuinely global appreciation of why we consume too much and what to do about it." — Frank Trentmann, author of Empire of Things: How We Became a World of Consumers, from the Fifteenth Century to the Twenty-First   

Frank Trentmann

"In a large pool of often simplistic manuals for simple living, this book stands out for its curiosity, humanity and genuinely global appreciation of why we consume too much and what to do about it."

Sierra Magazine

MacKinnon has a bricklayer’s talent for achieving beauty out of stacks of facts and statistics. . . . In wrestling with the realities of incremental change, examining our collective consumption and his own, MacKinnon says a great deal about what it is to be human during this moment on Earth, and how to live a meaningful life as one consumer among many. Surely part of the trick is to dare to imagine, as MacKinnon does, a scenario in which our prognosis improves, even a little.

Joel Bakan

"A provocative thought experiment that asks us to imagine what currently seems unthinkable, this is a beautifully written and rigorously researched revelation, an extraordinary creative journey to a place we urgently need to go. Full of hope and deep thought, unassuming and devoid of preaching, it is an exciting and truly inspiring read. I couldn’t put it down."

Alissa Quart

J.B. MacKinnon’s The Day the World Stops Shopping is a welcome and rare mix: a strong environmental argument and a jaunty picaresque. For the former, MacKinnon makes a convincing case that we need to shop less now. Green consumerism, in MacKinnon’s telling, isn’t just about buying ecologically-sound stuff or recycling our rubbish. It’s about buying many fewer things, leaving us so much less to recycle in the first place. You will want to buy this book and after you read it, little else.” 

Ronald Wright

"Dissecting the dilemma at civilization’s heart—the burden that reckless growth heaps upon the faltering Earth—J.B. MacKinnon lays out a wealth of knowledge and wisdom in a gripping, page-turning read. With wit, precision, and startling insights from around the world, he looks deeply into what we have done, and might do so much better. A model of clarity and grace, The Day the World Stops Shopping is one of the most important and well-written books I have read."

Shelf Awareness

"A journalist crafts an eloquent call to scale back shopping and consumption in wealthy countries, thereby allowing our exhausted planet a chance to heal and regenerate."  

Library Journal

★ 05/07/2021

With this latest work, journalist MacKinnon (The Once and Future World) offers a thoughtful account on consumerism and the environmental concerns that arise throughout the world because of current consumption. With the COVID-19 pandemic at the forefront of his mind, MacKinnon reconsiders his own relationship to the things we hang on to, starting with clothing. The author interviews experts in a variety of fields, from a business executive at Levi's, to a commercial real estate agent, in order to offer insight into the white Western history of materialism and the way humans became consumers. Witty and erudite, MacKinnon draws his evidence from a wide variety of sources that focus on different cultural values; it should make readers reconsider what it means to want more everyday items. The author takes care to offer research in accessible language, without coming across as lecturing. He does not necessarily advocate for complete self-sufficiency, keeping in mind various societal and human limitations, but he encourages readers to change their own habits when he points out that even a five-percent reduction in consumption would be a good start, albeit a challenging one. VERDICT Expertly showing the complex relationship between consumer culture and nature, this insightful account offers a starting point for change (and optimism), and is highly recommended for all libraries.—Ellen Gilbert, Princeton, NJ

MAY 2021 - AudioFile

Narrator Kaleo Griffith is methodical, precise, and steady in his delivery of this look at the dangers of consumerism. He treats listeners to this in-depth examination of how current purchasing trends are intertwined with climate change. Griffith's narration has an academic tone that reflects this well-researched work. This will be a popular title for those who would like to become more informed while exercising or driving. The narration is easy on the ears, and Griffith helps make sense of the complex details. From African tribal lands to industrialized cities, ancient times to present day, he takes listeners through the history of human consumption. Listeners who are looking for motivation to change their purchasing habits could very well find what they need in this audiobook. M.R. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2021-03-12
An examination of the effects that the end of consumerism would have on society.

Many politicians insist the economy will collapse if spending slows, while environmentalists warn we cannot sustain our current level of consumption. MacKinnon ponders what would really happen if we stopped shopping. While many of the concepts are familiar, the author digs deeper than most. Rather than allowing his conclusions to be directed by the theories of others, MacKinnon traveled the world, conducting interviews with experts and gathering information to support his findings. Among other places, the author visited Namibia, Ecuador, Finland, and Japan. The proliferation of the global pandemic, which occurred while MacKinnon was writing the book, allowed him to examine, in real time, the effects that changes in consumer spending could have. His conclusions should encourage readers to carefully consider their own habits. Throughout history, consumers have stopped shopping, albeit temporarily, for various reasons, including war and economic recession. Prior to the pandemic, MacKinnon notes, consumer consumption was often driven by impulse buying, vanity, and the desire to keep up with others. While consumerism initially increased at the beginning of the pandemic, as people began hoarding household and food items out of fear of shortages, a shift soon emerged. People continued to shop, but their purchases were more in line with intrinsic values, including spending more time with family and in nature. Rather than spending their money on luxury vacations and cars, consumers chose products such as camping gear, gardening supplies, books, and board games. They also sought out higher-quality and longer-lasting products. As MacKinnon shows, such shifts would likely continue to offer numerous benefits for all, including improved health and a cleaner environment. He cites a “humble goal: to reduce consumption by 5% across the rich world.” That shift, he writes, “might be the end of the world as we know it. It will not be the end of the world.”

A well-researched and provocative analysis offering hope and optimism for our future.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940176320657
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/25/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

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