大象传媒

Fall 2021: The 鈥淗ow Much Is Enough?鈥� Issue

Our fall issue tackled the existential question that undergirds so many of our current conversations, be they about wealth, food, health, justice, climate, or war and peace: How much is enough? Writers, thought-leaders, and organizers from across movements shared their visions for not only answering this question, but also for how to build a global community where everyone has enough. And we dove even deeper into this topic during a Sept. 9 online discussion with Brother Ch芒n Ph谩p Dung, a Buddhist monk whose lectures on the beauty and joy of simplicity are world-renowned, and authors Stan Cox and Chuck Collins. Nearly 600 people joined. Here is a selection of attendee feedback:   

There鈥檚 a perception that living with less is sacrificial鈥攎any times associated with getting a reward in the afterlife. But another way to look at it is living with less is a better way to live now. Less stress. Less anxiety.鈥�Glenn B., Duluth, Georgia

Capitalism is rooted in 鈥渇ree choice.鈥� We need a global aspiration to use our free choice more wisely. We are in severe ecological overshoot, we cannot afford to continue destabilizing our ecology. We need to embrace minimalist consumption and expectations: Brother Ch芒n Ph谩p Dung can teach us the way forward.鈥擝arbara W., Oxfordshire, England

As a White person who was born, raised, and lives in a rural area, I am deeply questioning the practicality of living here. Although my grandfather was a farmer (and entrepreneur), I am not a farmer or someone who provides food (or other necessities) for our community or the larger citizenry. So I am beginning to feel that moving to a more urban area (not suburban) may help me walk my talk in a better way when it comes to living with 鈥渆nough.鈥� There is so much richness here in what we are all considering.鈥�ayre脕nna a., Jamestown, California

I thoroughly enjoyed your magazine about 鈥渆nough,鈥� but I was struck how the magazine insists on electricity as the energy source, but at the same time, getting rid of fossil fuels. How do you think wind and solar are manufactured and transported? (All the components are mined or transported using fossil fuels, and they are mined or transported to the U.S. or Europe using fossil fuels.) Many of the corporations that function in energy supply now are switching to focusing their attention on solar panels/arrays or wind turbines, which are very energy intensive. We need to focus on local and regional products, seasonal produce, and on human population. And passive solar: buildings facing south, etc. Why aren鈥檛 these things part of the conversation?鈥擬aureen D., Southbridge, Massachusetts