Juliet Schor

What is 'Plenitude'?
Plenitude is a way of living that responds to the fact that our current economy is rapidly destroying the planet. It's a low-impact lifestyle that gives people more wellbeing and allows them to reclaim their time. In what I call the business-as-usual economy, people have to work long hours in stressful jobs to earn money that is spent in a hyper-consumer lifestyle. Plenitude is a movement of people who are reclaiming their time and learning how to be less dependent on the market.

Are there already people living like this?
Yes, the global recession has led more people to make and do things for themselves. For example, in the US there's been an explosion of vegetable gardening. There are people building their own homes out of eco-friendly materials that cost very little and doing it with free labour. People are starting to de-link from the big centralised corporations that are involved in a destructive economy. The global recession and high unemployment makes this lifestyle economically advantageous, as it requires less cash and more time.

How can you do it if you live in the city?
The model works in any kind of environment so people are practising it in urban situations, growing food in small spaces and in community gardens, raising chickens. What it can give you is a dense community, and you can reduce the amount of money you need by sharing things with others, whether it's the exchange of goods or even buying certain products and sharing them within a community.

Will there be a natural flow-on from the current model?
Yes and no. There is pressure to move in this direction. We've entered an era in which the economy will get more unstable and will be more involved in paying for the environmental costs of its activities. We see such a poignant, tragic example of that in [the oil spill in] the Gulf of Mexico right now. On the other hand, we need some collective action to deal with the fact that our fossil fuel energy system is destabilising the climate and putting humans' futures in jeopardy. The system we have is failing people and the planet and we need to shift to a new economy that can do what's best for people and the planet at the same time. VE

Plenitude: The New Economics of True Wealth (Scribe Publications, RRP$35)

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