Muddling toward frugality

Book · Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1978

OSTI ID:6779192

Johnson, W

Professor Johnson says that if we are to enjoy this planet for a long time, we may as well face the fact that trying to perpetuate the affluent society is going to be an uphill struggle. To maintain the heavy flow of raw materials now being cranked through our economy will become an increasingly laborious and ultimately desperate task. He feels that affluence will grow less comfortable, and there will be less peace and security in it. If the earth is to be a true home for us, a place of refuge and nurture, he suggests that we start to think about how we can make it such a place. He observes that the task will not be as difficult as it may sound, and requires no wishful thinking about technological breakthroughs, effective government, or heightened human consciousness. We can move toward a secure, sustainable way of life easily if we accept the logic of frugality, he notes. The nine chapers are entitled: (I) Neither Utopia Nor Oblivion; (2) An Ecological View of History; (3) Advancing Technology, Declining Resources; (IV) The Subsidence; (V) The Theory and Practice of Muddling; (VI) The Hazards of Muddling Toward Frugality; (VII) The Pace of Change; (VIII) The Pros and Cons of Underdevelopment; and (IX) Out of the Corner.

• OSTI ID: 6779192
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

29 ENERGY PLANNING
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