Could doing nothing be an easier and more pleasurable way of saving the planet? We discuss this contention with author and editor of The Idler, Tom Hodgkinson.
Making the transition to a low carbon economy necessitates a fresh look at the skills we have and the jobs that we do. What activities are going to be most valuable in a world without fossil fuels? How will we organise ourselves in a world that is less wasteful, more local, and more about self-sufficiency and community resilience?
What interested me in talking to Tom Hodgkinson was the fact that the ideas he had been exploring about freedom and a life of leisure matched increasingly closely to some of the visions that are emerging of what our low carbon future will look like. In a sense, Tom has been beavering away on the development of a philosophical justification and historical precedents for environmentally-friendly lifestyles.
Check out Tom’s books – “How to be Idle” and especially “How to be Free”.
Very interesting show, thanks!
One thing – lots of mentions of gardening and growing your own. Not to be a hectoring mary but what if you don’t have a house, and hence no garden? Allotment waiting times are years long, innit? I could move to the countryside… but I’d lose all my friends. And probably never have sex again.
Great – thanks! So glad I ran across this. California – heck, America – needs more idlers.