Jason Edward Hickel (born 1982) is an anthropologist and professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Hickel’s research and writings focus on economic anthropology and development, particularly speaking out against capitalism, neo-colonialism and economic growth as a measure of human development. Hickel is, among other things, Chair of Global Justice and Environment at the University of Oslo, co-editor of the journal «World Development» and a member of the Round Table on Climate and Macroeconomics of the US National Academy of Sciences.
He is known for his books The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions (2017) and Less Is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World (2020). He is a critic of capitalism and believes that degrowth is the solution to humanity’s impact on the environment.
Jason Hickel’s recent book «Less is more: How degrowth will save the world» was showered with international praise. Jason Hickel’s rhetorical skills are also well known.
In it, Jason Hickel takes stock of capitalism: instead of prosperity for all, our way of doing business has produced a life full of artificial scarcity, social injustice and massive environmental destruction.
Hickel is convinced that if we want to survive the crises of our time, we must free ourselves from capitalism. The alternatives lie neither in communism nor in radical renunciation. The goal is an economy that works for the benefit of all and preserves our livelihoods.
Hickel’s analysis of the current situation is impressive and clear – he also develops concrete steps for a necessary transformation and makes a remarkable contribution to the question of how sustainability can be implemented in a socially just way.