Less Is Not Enough

Examining the rise of minimalist self-help, Miriam Meissner shows 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.

Less Is Not Enough 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, it 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, Meissner proposes an eco-political strategy that refuses to pit middle-class interests against the demands of a just green transition.

Drawing on cultural studies and political ecology, the book reveals how affluent minimalists seek emancipation and argues for redirecting these desires away from individualistic self-help toward a collective postgrowth politics.