Limits - by Giorgos Kallis (Paperback)
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<p/><br></br><p><b> About the Book </b></p></br></br>Western culture is infatuated with the dream of going beyond, even as it is increasingly haunted by the specter of apocalypse: drought, famine, nuclear winter. How did we come to think of the planet and its limits as we do? This book reclaims, redefines, and makes an impassioned plea for limits-a notion central to environmentalism-clearing them from their association with Malthusianism and the ideology and politics that go along with it. Giorgos Kallis rereads reverend-economist Thomas Robert Malthus and his legacy, separating limits and scarcity, two notions that have long been conflated in both environmental and economic thought. Limits are not something out there, a property of nature to be deciphered by scientists, but a choice that confronts us, one that, paradoxically, is part and parcel of the pursuit of freedom. Taking us from ancient Greece to Malthus, from hunter-gatherers to the Romantics, from anarchist feminists to 1970s radical environmentalists, Limits shows us how an institutionalized culture of sharing can make possible the collective self-limitation we so urgently need. --<p/><br></br><p><b> Book Synopsis </b></p></br></br><p>Western culture is infatuated with the dream of going beyond, even as it is increasingly haunted by the specter of apocalypse: drought, famine, nuclear winter. How did we come to think of the planet and its limits as we do? This book reclaims, redefines, and makes an impassioned plea for limits-a notion central to environmentalism-clearing them from their association with Malthusianism and the ideology and politics that go along with it. Giorgos Kallis rereads reverend-economist Thomas Robert Malthus and his legacy, separating limits and scarcity, two notions that have long been conflated in both environmental and economic thought. Limits are not something out there, a property of nature to be deciphered by scientists, but a choice that confronts us, one that, paradoxically, is part and parcel of the pursuit of freedom. Taking us from ancient Greece to Malthus, from hunter-gatherers to the Romantics, from anarchist feminists to 1970s radical environmentalists, <i>Limits</i> shows us how an institutionalized culture of sharing can make possible the collective self-limitation we so urgently need.</p><p/><br></br><p><b> Review Quotes </b></p></br></br><br>[A] welcome expansion of the English-language degrowth literature away from its usual technocratic or homespun focus on economic and environmental concerns, and into the humanities....[This] book is a very fine example of the sort of depth the environmental humanities can bring to an issue.--Andrew J. Sutter "<i>Brave New Europe</i>"<br><br>[How] did the idea of limits get such a bad rap? Well, the great virtue of Giorgos Kallis's fine book, <i>Limits</i>, is in pointing this out by showing how the idea of limits got conflated with the spectral notion of 'scarcity' and in revealing a host of problems which followed from that unholy union....Kallis undertakes something of a phenomenology and anthropology of limits, which is an enjoyable and eminently humane ride.--Michael J. Sauter "<i>Front Porch Republic</i>"<br><br>[The] popular understanding of Malthus comes from a mis- or half-reading, Kallis finds....[A] reconsideration of Malthus, like recent ones of Adam Smith, is a welcome part of the assault, across many fronts, on the neoliberal order.--Anthony Chaney "<i>U.S. Intellectual History Blog</i>"<br><br>Every so often a book comes along that can cut through fruitless debates and reveal a new way of thinking about a complex problem. <i>Limits</i> is such a book. Giorgos Kallis shows that by rejecting scarcity thinking, we can find the right questions and answers for our ecological and social crises.--Juliet Schor "Boston College"<br><br>In an era addicted to endless growth, Giorgos Kallis artfully explores the power of limits and the surprising freedom that they can unleash. A compelling--and fittingly concise--read for our times.--Kate Raworth "author of <i>Doughnut Economics</i>"<br><br>In this timely and essential book, Giorgos Kallis makes a compelling argument for autonomy and freedom from the unfulfillable promise of limitless growth under consumer capitalism. He shows how democratic, egalitarian self-limitation can combat the dominant but unsustainable imperative to constantly produce and acquire more.--Nicholas Xenos, University of Massachusetts "Amherst"<br><br>Kallis's take on [Malthus's] work was an eye-opener for me....Whether you are interested in Malthus, growth and its limits, or issues of sustainability, I recommend Limits as a pleasantly concise and thought-provoking book that is sure to stimulate discussion.--<i>The Inquisitive Biologist</i><br><br>Malthus is a key figure for understanding how to survive the twenty-first century, yet Kallis shows we have spent the last two hundred years misunderstanding him. Quirky, provocative, and engaging, <i>Limits</i> is a must-read book for environmentalists and anti-environmentalists alike.--Bill Adams "University of Cambridge"<br><p/><br></br><p><b> About the Author </b></p></br></br><b>Giorgos Kallis</b> is ICREA (Catalan Institution for Research and Advanced Studies) Professor at the Institute of Environmental Science and Technology, Autonomous University of Barcelona.
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