Reading Guide

Discussion questions created by Holt Paperbacks, publisher of the Deep Economy:
The Wealth of Communities and the Durable Future by Bill McKibben:

1. Bill McKibben begins by discussing More and Better. At what point does More stop being
Better for you personally? Is your life easier than your parents’ life? Is it happier?

2. Have you been to your local farmers’ market? How is it different from a supermarket? What
would your diet look like if you were only able to eat seasonal food grown in your area?

3. How did you react to “The Year of Eating Locally”? What does it prove about local economies
in general? Can we stop being dependent on superefficiency and vast factory farms?

4. Though lobbyists have stood in the way of government funding for research on solar and wind
power, McKibben provides many examples of successful grassroots campaigns for it. What
would it take to get you to put solar panels on your roof? Are there wind farms in your state?

5. What did you discover about the relationship between wealth and global warming? How can
you act on McKibben’s distinction between pollution (a symptom of “doing it badly”) and
carbon-dioxide emissions (a symptom of “doing too much of something”)?

6. In his recent speeches, McKibben has been saying, “Cheap fossil fuel has made us the first
people in the world who have no practical need of our neighbors—and we’re much the sadder
for it.” Do you agree?

7. What is harmful about the “individual” mentality described in “All for One, or One for All”?
Do most humans want community, or deep down do we prefer independence?

8. How has your job been affected by the drive for productivity? Would you rather be rich or
have more time with your family and friends?

9. McKibben’s description of the “economics of neighborliness” describes the rise of radio
conglomerates. Has the rise of Clear Channel changed radio programming in your area? What
is the impact (environmental, economic, and otherwise) of losing community institutions?

10. What does the Internet produce more of: powerful villages or corporate power?

11. What do you believe the future holds for the world in terms of economics, environmental
stability, and general happiness? Could the utopian traits of Kerala become universal?

12. What does Deep Economy add to the portrait of human nature that McKibben produced in his
previous books?

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