Dr. David Fleming (1940 – 2010) was a visionary thinker and writer
who played significant roles in the genesis of the UK Green Party,
the Transition Towns movement, and the New Economics Foundation, as
well as chairing the Soil Association. He was also one of the early
whistle-blowers on oil depletion and designer of the influential
TEQs carbon/energy rationing system. He read Modern History at
Trinity College, Oxford, and later earned an MBA and then an MSc
and PhD in economics (in 1988). These enabled him to better engage
with and confound the mainstream, in support of his true passion
and genius: understanding that diverse and mysterious thing
“community.” Lean Logic was the work of over thirty years.
Shaun Chamberlin has been involved with the Transition Network
since its inception, co-founding Transition Town Kingston and
authoring the movement’s second book, The Transition Timeline.
He was also one of Extinction Rebellion’s first arrestees, chair of
the Ecological Land Co-operative, and has spoken at venues ranging
from Occupy camps to national parliaments. In exploring the
cultural narratives charting society’s course he has written and
edited diverse publications, including bringing his late mentor
David Fleming's lifework Lean Logic: A Dictionary for the
Future and How to Survive It to posthumous publication, and
creating from it the paperback Surviving the Future: Culture,
Carnival, and Capital in the Aftermath of the Market Economy. He is
also a consulting scholar at Sterling College, and lead writer of
the film The Sequel: What Will Follow Our Troubled
Civilisation? His website is www.darkoptimism.org.
Jonathon Porritt co-chaired the UK Green Party from 1980-83, and
acted as the director of Friends of the Earth from 1984-1990. In
1996 he co-founded Forum for the Future and was Chair of the UK’s
Sustainable Development Commission from 2000-2009, receiving a CBE
for services to environmental protection. He has written eight
books, including Capitalism As If The World Matters (2007) and The
World We Made (2013).
Choice- "The late author, who passed away suddenly in 2010, was a
prominent UK Green Party theorist and advocate. This
book—thoughtfully edited by his protégé Chamberlin—represents the
distillation of a life's work. Fleming is best known for
introducing the economic concept of "Tradable Energy Quotas"
(TEQs), which aims to plot the means for a vast reduction of carbon
emissions and energy consumption. Even though the book is laid out
in a dictionary format, it is best viewed as a series of
interconnected essays. The overall goal is to detail the
self-destructiveness of the market economy's dependence on
sustained growth and at the same time paint a picture of a much
less dynamic economy of the future. The notion of "lean logic,"
i.e., thinking small and local, exemplifies the public policies
that he predicted will emerge pursuant to the implosion of the
market economy. Fleming claims an optimistic vision, yet the stark
overhaul of existing social ties he foresees has a strong
chiliastic bent. His idea of the market economy is the polar
opposite of the recent work of Deirdre McCloskey, Bourgeois
Equality: How Ideas, Not Capital or Institutions, Enriched the
World (CH, Oct'16, 54-0926). Nonetheless, this is a welcome
work with a distinctive and well-articulated point of
view. Summing Up: Highly recommended. All readership
levels.”
“A monumental achievement, David Fleming’s Lean Logic is
an encyclopedic guide to the crisis of industrial civilization. I
challenge anyone to read as much as a page of it without finding at
least one insight worth serious reflection. Individuals, families,
and communities will find it invaluable as a guide to navigating
the troubled waters of the future.”--John Michael Greer, author
of The Long Descent and After Progress
“The only scientific question left to us: how can we ensure a
future for humanity? That includes: how do we free ourselves from
capitalism, the form of social organisation that is destroying us?
And how do we create something else? This book is a thoughtful and
imaginative contribution to the debate about humanity’s
future.”--John Holloway, sociologist; author of Change the
World Without Taking Power and Crack Capitalism
“David Fleming’s eye was sharp, and his words had a way of getting
right to the heart of the matter. This book is remarkable and
scintillating; the product of a truly original mind.”--Paul
Kingsnorth, cofounder, The Dark Mountain Project; author of The
Wake
“In my words it's half encyclopaedia, half commonplace book, half a
secular bible, half survival guide, half . . . yes, that's a lot of
halves, but I hope you get the picture. I have never encountered a
book that is so hard to characterise yet so hard, despite its
weight, to put down. Lean Logic is neither a policy manifesto nor a
dry technical guide. It's an incredibly nourishing cultural and
scientific treasure trove.”--John Thackara, founder and director,
Doors of Perception; author of How to Thrive in the Next
Economy
“David Fleming was a walking encyclopaedia of ecological knowledge
and wisdom. His brilliance, good humour, and deep insight were
legendary and unforgettable. His writing, too, was of the highest
calibre—witty, entertaining, profound, informative, and
transformative. These books of his give us the opportunity to
savour the great treasure that was his mind. To read them is to
gain a superb education in ecology from one of the greatest masters
in the field.”--Dr. Stephan Harding, resident ecologist, Schumacher
College; author of Animate Earth
"A splendid smorgasbord, Lean Logic provides rare insight into some
of the key issues of our time! Fleming's underlying vision of a
future founded in a reclaimed richness of community, culture, and
conversation is both heartening and timely."--Helena Norberg-Hodge,
author of Ancient Futures; director of The Economics of
Happiness
“David Fleming predicts environmental catastrophe but also proposes
a solution that stems from the real motives of people and not from
some comprehensive political agenda. He writes lucidly and
eloquently of the moral and spiritual qualities on which we might
draw in our 'descent' to a Lean Economy. His highly poetic
description of these qualities is neither gloomy nor self-deceived
but tranquil and inspiring. All environmental activists should read
him and learn to think in his cultivated and nuanced way.”--Roger
Scruton, writer and philosopher; author of over thirty books,
including Green Philosophy
“This is an extraordinary book, uncategorisable, driven by a great
rolling intellectual curiosity. Fleming fathomed the depth of the
mess in which we find ourselves and left us clues as to how we
might find our way through that mess.”--Dougald Hine, cofounder,
The Dark Mountain Project
“David Fleming’s lifework is nothing less than an encyclopedia of
the timeless art of living, encompassing the art of building
enlivening communities, the art of allowing the economy to serve
life and creativity, and the art of unmasking invisible
brainwashing. Fleming has written a guide to becoming an authentic
individual and to recognizing toxic relationships on every level of
material and personal exchange. This is a serious guide to health
on every level of relationships and at the same time a deeply
humorous read. Whether the breakdown of technical civilisation will
come (as Fleming is convinced) or humanity will just carry on
muddling through as always, this encyclopedia of manners, grace,
and style will make the reader’s life more wonderful and thus
inevitably help to build a saner society.”--Andreas
Weber, PhD, author of The Biology of Wonder
“David Fleming was the soul of provocative, exciting, and creative
thought, and it was always a thought-provoking and
pleasure-promoting experience to meet him. Amongst many virtues,
his approach to climate change and ecology embraced the commons.
Seeing this as a solution, with collective decision-making leading
to a better future, was at the heart of his work. I am sure that
Elinor Ostrom, who won a Nobel Prize for her work on the commons,
would have appreciated David's comment that putting government in
charge of commons was like placing the fox in control of the
chicken coop. It is so sad that David is no longer with us, but his
words are; these books are full of insight and enjoyment. I hope
his laughter and enlightenment spread far and wide through new
readers as well as those of us familiar with his thoughts
already.”--Derek Wall, author of Economics After Capitalism and the
forthcoming Elinor Ostrom’s Rules for Radicals
“For me originality, passion, commitment, and sincerity are the
words which describe David Fleming. All these qualities are present
in his writing. His lifelong championing of Tradable Energy Quotas,
one of the very few instruments which promote sustainable
consumption in a progressive rather than regressive way thereby
combining environmental gain with a simultaneous transfer of
resources from richer to poorer people, propels him to an honoured
place in the pantheon of green campaigners.”--Tim Yeo, former UK
Minister for the Environment and Chair of the House of Commons
Energy and Climate Change Select Committee
“Our current public discourse on such problems as resource
depletion, climate change, and the economy is often hopelessly
muddled; this book brings light and transparency. David Fleming
didn’t tell us what to think but rather how to avoid cognitive
fallacies that masquerade as reason. Lean Logic is an instant
classic that was many years in the making, and it should be
essential reading for environmentalists, economists, policy makers,
and anyone who wants greater clarity in understanding the most
important issues of our time.”--Richard Heinberg, senior fellow,
Post Carbon Institute
“David Fleming gives a remarkable overview of our present situation
and of possible future scenarios. His writing is clear, witty,
insightful, and wise. Lean Logic is a delight to dip
into, and every time I do so I feel refreshed. It is a work of
genius.”--Rupert Sheldrake, PhD, author of The Science
Delusion
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