Less Is Not Enough: Minimalist Desires and Postgrowth Politics

By Miriam Meissner

Less Is Not Enough examines the rise of minimalist self-help, showing how it depoliticizes middle-class frustrations with capitalist exploitation, and proposes a cultural strategy to channel minimalist desires into a more radical, postgrowth politics.

In the past decade minimalist self-help has exploded, from tidying guides to media detoxes which promise to help affluent middle classes navigate a world of excess-too much clutter, stress, and distraction.

Here, Miriam Meissner exposes the limits of minimalism in addressing both middle-class overload and the environmental crisis. Through a critical analysis of self-help books, TV shows, and online communities, she argues that while minimalism is well-intended, it ultimately distracts from the root causes of the very problems it seeks to alleviate. Trends like decluttering and mindfulness depoliticize middle-class frustrations with the capitalist exploitation of labour, attention, and ecology for profit.

In an era where climate justice and class struggle are inseparable, this book proposes an eco-political strategy that refuses to pit middle-class interests against the demands of a just green transition.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1350587796
• ISBN13: 9781350587793
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.2"