Twice the Value for Half the Resources
"David Wann makes a compelling case that the current fiscal squeeze is really a good thing in Simple Prosperity. A coauthor of the best selling Affluenza, he covers a lot of solution-oriented ground, from conscientious consumption and cohousing to building human-scale neighborhoods and dismantling the fossil fuel economy..." - Utne Reader
David Wann has woven together all the right stuff to make a compelling and appealing case for the abundance of enough and the poverty of more.” — Vicki Robin, coauthor Your Money or Your Life, cofounder of Conversation Cafés
If ever there was a right book at the right time, Simple Prosperity is it.” — Lester R. Brown, President, Earth Policy Institute and author of Plan B 2.0: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilization in Trouble
“This book is full of wisdom for real living; and it will help you find a kind of wealth that's woven right within the fabric of everyday life.” — Sarah Susanka, author of The Not So Big Life: Making Room for What Really Matters, and the Not So Big House series
"This is a valuable and concise digest of much that we’ve figured out in recent years, about health, stress, joy, community.” — Bill McKibben, author of Deep Economy
"Dave Wann's recipes from his own experience in Simple Prosperity are a breath of fresh air, and just what we need for a saner future. They include ideas, sound research and down-to-earth advice we can all use. This book is also much more: a friendly, personal guidebook for living a more enjoyable, healthy, loving life."--Hazel Henderson, author, Ethical Markets: Growing The Green Economy
17 Powerful assets based on Real Wealth
Taking Stock: How Foresight Can Cut Our Losses * Evolutionary Income: An Instinct for Happiness * Personal Growth: Creating a Rich Life Story * Mindful Money: More Value from Better Stuff * The Bonds of Social Capital: The More We Spend, the More We Have * Time Affluence: How to Save It and Savor It * Stocks of Wellness: Preventive Pathways to Health * The Currency of Nature: A Living Endowment * Precious Work and Play: Going With the Flow * The Real Wealth of Neighborhoods: Designing for People, Not Cars * Higher Returns on Investment: Twice the Satisfaction for Half the Resources * Energy Savings: Finessing the Carbon Conundrum * The Benefits of Right- Sizing: Better Than Better Homes and Gardens * Trimming the Fat: Farewell to Fossil Food * Infinite Information: How to Channel its Flow * Historical Dividends: New Rules for An Old Game * Cultural Prosperity: The Earth as a Sacred Garden
Read More About These Assets and Real Wealth
The book Simple Prosperity: Finding Real Wealth in a Sustainable Lifestyle outlines a new way of life that can deliver twice the satisfaction for half the resources. What we eat, where we live, where we work, and what we buy are all topics of discussion, and all can be assets that build immunity to over-consumption. The book’s underlying theme is that current, unprecedented rates of consumption can’t and won’t continue. “Because of resource shortages, a reduced capacity of the environment to clean up after us, an epidemic of debt, a longing for meaning and purpose, and a deep-seated instinct for ecological stability, we’ll invent a joyfully moderate and culturally abundant lifestyle,” author David Wann writes.
He concludes that basic human needs are not being met well in the U.S., leaving us vulnerable to the socially transmitted disease he helped identify in the best-selling book Affluenza. Americans may spend the least for food in the world (as a percentage of income) but we also have the most expensive healthcare, and we have recently sunk to 42nd in the world in life expectancy. Simple Prosperity presents seventeen forms of real wealth that can overcome affluenza, including health, time affluence, social capital, natural connections, an instinct for genuine happiness, the real wealth of neighborhoods, mindful money, and brilliant design based on what nature and people actually need.
“When we change a few key priorities, many of our material wants will cease to be obsessions, “ says Wann. “It’s not just that we won’t need the next generation of gadgets or clothes; we truly won’t even want them. Instead of fidgety, addictive consumption, our lives will be filled with the real wealth of sanity, health, hope, caring, connection, participation, and purpose.”