{"product_id":"slow-down-isbn-9781662602726","title":"Slow Down","description":"\u003cb\u003e\"Accessible and convincing.\"\u003cbr\u003e—Sally Rooney\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[A] well-reasoned and eye-opening treatise . . . [Kohei Saito makes] a provocative and visionary proposal.\" \u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Saito’s clarity of thought, plethora of evidence, and conversational, gentle, yet urgent tone . . . are sure to win over open-minded readers who understand the dire nature of our global situation . . . A cogently structured anti-capitalist approach to the climate crisis.\" \u003cbr\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhy, in our affluent society, do so many people live in poverty, without access to health care, working multiple jobs and are nevertheless unable to make ends meet, with no future prospects, while the planet is burning?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn his international bestseller, Kohei Saito argues that while unfettered capitalism is often blamed for inequality and climate change, subsequent calls for “sustainable growth” and a “Green New Deal” are a dangerous compromise. Capitalism creates artificial scarcity by pursuing profit based on the value of products rather than their usefulness and by putting perpetual growth above all else. It is therefore impossible to reverse climate change in a capitalist society—more: the system that caused the problem in the first place cannot be an integral part of the solution. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eInstead, Saito advocates for degrowth and deceleration, which he conceives as the slowing of economic activity through the democratic reform of labor and production. In practical terms, he argues for:\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ethe end of mass production and mass consumption\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003edecarbonization through shorter working hours\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ethe prioritization of essential labor over corporate profits\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBy returning to a system of social ownership, he argues, we can restore abundance and focus on those activities that are essential for human life, effectively reversing climate change and saving the planet.\"Accessible and convincing.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eSally Rooney\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"According to Saito, the Earth is completely doomed unless we give up our obsession with G.D.P. and other forms of capitalist insanity. I find myself pretty well convinced.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eTammy Kim, contributing writer at the \u003ci\u003eNew Yorker\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Saitō makes a compelling, if idealistic, argument against capitalism and imagines a more equitable, utopian alternative . . . [\u003ci\u003eSlow Down\u003c\/i\u003e] is a richly researched, deftly wrought manifesto.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eHannah Bonner,\u003ci\u003e Los Angeles Review of Books\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[\u003ci\u003eSlow Down\u003c\/i\u003e] offers more than a diagnosis of the systemic problems that brought us to this moment; it lays out, in clear and well-researched language, how those problems can be thoroughly addressed . . . \u003ci\u003eSlow Down \u003c\/i\u003eis that rare hybrid among ideological manifestos: It opens new insights into an existing ideology while uplifting something distinct of its own.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eMatthew Rozsa, \u003ci\u003eSalon\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"If you want to get a jump on the book everyone will be talking about this winter, you should preorder \u003ci\u003eSlow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto\u003c\/i\u003e now.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eJeva Lange, \u003ci\u003eHeatmap News\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Seldom are we confronted with solutions that make us uncomfortable with our way of life. Kohei Saito lays out how 'Imperiale Lebensweise' or the imperial mode of living comes at the expense at much of the developing world, and lays out a vision for how we can preserve life for all and not just the very rich. Modern climate change conversations can become so obsessed with methods and technologies, that they often forget the most important environmental credo. Sometimes the best thing to do is nothing at all. Stop buying, stop selling, and let the planet heal.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eRicardo Pierre-Louis, Bookseller at Semicolon Bookstore\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Saitō’s proposal is simple, salient, and adapts Marx for the modern day.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Millions\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Looking to start out the year with some big ideas? Look no further.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eTobias Carroll,\u003ci\u003e InsideHook\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Saito makes a significant and timely contribution to the ongoing conversation about sustainable living . . . Readers interested in environmental activism, economic reform, and social justice will find Saito’s insights enlightening.\"\u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eMaileen Hamto, \u003ci\u003ePortland Book Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"[A] well-reasoned and eye-opening treatise . . . [Kohei Saito makes] a provocative and visionary proposal.\" \u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e (starred review)\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"Saito’s clarity of thought, plethora of evidence, and conversational, gentle, yet urgent tone—even when describing the most alarming aspects of the climate crisis—are sure to win over open-minded readers who understand the dire nature of our global situation and that 'green capitalism is a myth.' A cogently structured anti-capitalist approach to the climate crisis.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e—Kirkus \u003c\/i\u003e(starred review)\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Achieving degrowth communism, [Saito] believes, is less about personal choices and more about changing overarching political and economic structures. Marxism, he argues, offers a viable model for reorienting society around the maximization of public goods as opposed to the endless pursuit and concentration of wealth.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Ben Dooley \u0026amp; Hisako Ueno, \u003ci\u003eThe New York Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"This necessary and energizing 21st Century manifesto is a truth mirror inviting us to see ourselves and our place in the metastatic growth engine that is our current economic system. Saito is a well-read soothsayer -- one who loves this world, who has done his homework, and who is eager to share a viable way forward.\" \u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eJohn Vaillant, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003eFire Weather, The Tiger\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Golden Spruce\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Kohei Saito is one of the most important scholars in the world. In \u003ci\u003eSlow Down\u003c\/i\u003e, he delivers a Karl Marx for the climate crisis and a vision of communism for the 21st century. No work could be more vital today.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Malcolm Harris, bestselling author of \u003ci\u003ePalo Alto\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eSlow Down \u003c\/i\u003ehas an almost magic ability to formulate complex thoughts in clear language, as well as to combine strict conceptual thinking with passionate personal engagement. Saito's book is not just for anyone interested in ecology or in the problems of today's global capitalism, it is simply indispensable for those of us who want to SURVIVE—in short, to all of us.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Slavoj Žižek, author of \u003ci\u003eViolence\u003c\/i\u003e and The Sublime Object of Ideology\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Saitō unites Marxism with ecology and lights a path out of our present crisis. A powerful book from one of the most compelling young thinkers of our time.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Jason Hickel, author of \u003ci\u003eLess is More\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eKōhei Saitō is an associate professor of philosophy at the University of Tokyo. He received his PhD in philosophy from Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in 2016. He was awarded the 2018 Deutscher Memorial Prize, the most prestigious academic award for Marxian studies, making Saitō its youngest recipient. In 2020 the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science awarded him the highly prestigious JSPS prize, awarded to the top 25 scholars in the entire country under the age of 45. In 2021, \u003ci\u003eSlow Down\u003c\/i\u003e received the \"Best Asian Books of the Year\" prize from the Asia Book Awards.","brand":"Astra House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46301086548197,"sku":"NP9781662602726","price":18.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781662602726.jpg?v=1767736778","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/products\/slow-down-isbn-9781662602726","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}