More From Less: The surprising story of how we learned to prosper using fewer resources – and what happens next
Autor Andrew McAfeeen Limba Engleză Paperback – 6 aug 2020
După lectura acestei cărți, cititorul va fi capabil să demonteze argumentele fataliste privind suprapopularea și epuizarea resurselor, înțelegând mecanismele economice care permit creșterea prosperității în paralel cu reducerea amprentei ecologice. Considerăm că More From Less reprezintă un punct de cotitură în dezbaterea despre sustenabilitate, oferind o perspectivă riguroasă asupra modului în care am intrat în era 'dematerializării'. Subliniem faptul că Andrew McAfee nu se bazează pe idealism, ci pe date care demonstrează că, în economiile avansate, am depășit momentul în care creșterea economică necesita un consum sporit de materii prime.
Remarcăm o structură narativă ce îmbină analiza economică cu exemple tehnologice concrete, de la modul în care un singur smartphone a înlocuit zeci de dispozitive mecanice, până la eficiența agriculturii de precizie. Abordarea diferă de Fewer, Richer, Greener de Laurence Siegel prin concentrarea specifică pe binomul tehnologie-capitalism ca motor principal al schimbării — este mai puțin o pledoarie filosofică și mai mult un model aplicabil despre eficiență. Totodată, spre deosebire de Factor Four, care propunea soluții pentru viitor, McAfee demonstrează că procesul de optimizare a resurselor este deja o realitate economică funcțională.
Această lucrare continuă explorarea impactului digital asupra societății, temă centrală și în Machine, Platform, Crowd, însă aici autorul extinde analiza de la mediul de afaceri la sănătatea întregii planete. Deși tonul este optimist, autorul nu ignoră eșecurile pieței, precum încălzirea globală sau concentrarea excesivă a resurselor, poziționând cartea ca un ghid pragmatic pentru înțelegerea viitorului capitalismului sustenabil.
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Specificații
ISBN-10: 1471180360
Pagini: 352
Dimensiuni: 130 x 198 x 21 mm
Greutate: 0.25 kg
Editura: Simon&Schuster
Colecția Simon & Schuster UK
De ce să citești această carte
Recomandăm această carte liderilor de afaceri și decidenților care doresc să înțeleagă noua paradigmă a eficienței. Veți câștiga o viziune clară asupra modului în care tehnologia poate genera profit reducând în același timp consumul de resurse naturale. Este lectura esențială pentru oricine caută argumente bazate pe date împotriva pesimismului ecologic, învățând cum să navigheze într-o economie care produce 'mai mult cu mai puțin'.
Despre autor
Andrew McAfee este cercetător principal la MIT Center for Digital Business și co-director al MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy. Cu o carieră dedicată studierii modului în care tehnologia digitală transformă afacerile și societatea, el este autorul unor lucrări de referință precum The Geek Way și Machine, Platform, Crowd. Expertiza sa la intersecția dintre economie și inovație tehnologică îi permite să ofere o analiză profundă asupra 'dematerializării', fiind o voce influentă în mediul academic și în cel al consultanței de business la nivel global.
Descriere scurtă
Bestselling author and co-director of the MIT Initiative on the Digital Economy Andrew McAfee says there’s a new reason for optimism: we’re past the point of 'peak stuff' – from here on out, it’ll take fewer resources to make things, and cost less to lead a comfortable life.
This turn of events invalidates the predictions of overpopulation alarmists and those who argue we need to drastically reduce our conception of how much is enough. What has made this turnabout possible? One thing primarily: the collaboration between technology and capitalism.
Capitalism’s quest for higher profits is a quest for lower costs; materials and resources are expensive, and technological progress allows companies to use fewer of them even as they grow their markets. Modern smartphones take the place of cameras, GPS units, landline telephones, answering machines, tape recorders and alarm clocks. Precision agriculture lets farmers harvest larger crops while using less water and fertiliser. Passenger cars get lighter, which makes them cheaper to produce and more fuel-efficient. This means that, even though there’ll be more people in the future, and they’ll be wealthier and consume more, they’ll do so while using fewer natural resources. For the first time ever, and for all time to come, humans will live more prosperous lives while treading more lightly on the Earth.
The future is not all bright, cautions McAfee. He warns of issues that still haven’t been fully solved. (For example, our oceans are still vulnerable to overfishing; global warming is still running largely unchecked; and even as 'dematerialisation' – the reduced need for raw materials – improves our global situation, power and resources are getting more concentrated. That creates an even larger division between the haves and the have nots.)
More From Less is a revelatory, paradigm-shifting account of how we’ve stumbled into an unexpected balance with nature, and the possibility that our most abundant centuries are ahead of us.
Notă biografică
Recenzii
'For many years now, Andrew McAfee has been arguing that the fourth industrial revolution would transform our economies and the quality of our lives. In his new book More from Less he applies his positive approach to the case of our planet, arguing that we have reached a critical tipping point where technology is allowing us to actually reduce our ecological footprint - a truly counterintuitive finding! Is McAfee downplaying the sheer scale of the economic transformation required to meet climate change commitments under the Paris Agreement? No, and he acknowledges the monumental efforts required, but argues that the tools, the scale, the governance and the policies are available to turn the course of development for the better instead of for worse. His optimism is a breath of fresh air substantiated by real research and empirical findings. [This book is] well worth reading even if your first impression, like mine, is: it can’t be true!'
'In More from Less Andrew McAfee lays out a compelling blueprint showing how we can support human life using fewer natural resources, improve the state of the world, and replenish the planet for centuries to come.'
'I've always believed that technological progress and entrepreneurship make our lives better. Here, Andrew McAfee shows how these powerful forces are helping us make our planet better too, instead of degrading it. For anyone who wants to help create a future that is both sustainable and abundant, this book is essential reading.'
'This book is the best kind of surprise. It tells us something about our relationship with our planet that is both unexpected and hopeful. The evidence Andy presents is convincing: we have at last learned how to tread more lightly on the Earth. More from Less shows how we accomplished this, and tells us how to keep it going.'
'Andrew McAfee’s new book addresses an urgent need in our world today: defining a framework for addressing big global challenges. His proposals are based on a thorough analysis of the state of the world, combined with a refreshing can-do attitude.'
'In More from Less Andrew McAfee conclusively demonstrates how environmentalism requires more technology and capitalism, not less. Our modern technologies actually dematerialise our consumption, giving us higher human welfare with lower material inputs. This is an urgently needed and clear-eyed view of how to have our technological cake and eat it too.'
'In More from Less, Andrew McAfee tells the riveting story of how humanity is turning the corner with respect to what had been massive, steady increases in consumption of raw materials. By subverting our common perceptions of capitalism and technology as enemies of progress and environmental preservation, McAfee offers all of us a clear-eyed source of optimism and hope. Critically, he also makes the case for what comes next - offering up vital lessons that have the potential to make the world both more prosperous and more just.'
'Yet another magnificent contribution from Andrew McAfee. Along with his prior works, More from Less will help us navigate society’s future in profound ways.'
'The shortest path to improving the world is to notice objectively what is already working, and do more of it. As for the things that are still going wrong, figure out the minimalist way to turn them around, and do that. McAfee’s More from Less is packed with practical news and advice that will disconcert ideologues of every stripe.'
'McAfee synthesises a vast literature on economics and the environment into a lucid, robust defence of technological progress, including nuclear power and GMOs. This stimulating challenge to anti-capitalist alarmists is full of fascinating information and provocative insights.'