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Mckibben's Deep Economy

1713 Words7 Pages

In the book Deep Economy there necessarily is not a challenge of the system, but instead it is more of a questioning of the system. One way this book questions the system is that it questions how we value our economic success and how this factors into our happiness. As a society we believe that the more money a person has, the happier they will be. McKibben questions this idea by pointing out that although our economy has significantly increased since World War II, our happiness has not grown with this, in fact it has decreased. He also mentions that Americans are overall unhappy. McKibben states, “There have been steady decreases in the percentage of Americans that say their marriages are happy, that they are satisfied with their jobs, that they find a great deal of pleasure in the place they live” (35 McKibben). This shows that despite all of our material advancements, the United States has not moved up in its satisfaction at equivalent rates. Our goal of acquiring more wealth should not be our main goal. Our main goal should be finding other ways to increase our happiness such as spending time with our families and friends, working fewer hours, and appreciating what we have. The book Deep Economy also questions our reliance on petroleum fuels. One thing that …show more content…

Throughout the book we see Pat value things like family, freedom, knowledge, and loyalty. Although in our society it seems we don’t value these as much as we should like Pat did. I even see this in myself. Before reading Where Men Win Glory I had a higher value on economic success and status, and had been taking for granted my freedom and knowledge I have access to. Although after reading about Pat, it really changed my perspective on what I value. I now have a greater appreciation for the little things in life such as our freedom in the United States. Reading about Pat’s life really opened my eyes to what I should value in my

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