edited by Malcolm Harris with Neal Gorenflo
SHARE OR DIE IS THE FIRST BOOK OF ITS KIND. IN ITS PAGES, MEMBERS OF GENERATION Y TELL THE STORY OF A NEW ECONOMY BASED IN COLLABORATION INSTEAD OF COMPETITION, AND HOW THEY’RE MAKING IT A REALITY IN THEIR LIVES.
America stands at a precipice; limitless consumption, reckless economics, and disregard for the environment have put the country on a collision course with disaster. It’s up to a younger generation to rebuild according to new forms of organization, and Share or Die: The Get Lost Generation in the Age of Crisis is a collection of messages from the front lines.
From urban Detroit to central Amsterdam, and from worker co-operatives to nomadic communities, an astonishing variety of recent graduates and twenty-something experimenters are finding (and sharing) their own answers to negotiating the new economic order. Their visions of a shared future include:
- Collaborative consumption networks instead of private ownership
- Replacing the corporate ladder with a “lattice lifestyle”
- Do-it-yourself higher education
- Worker and housing cooperatives
As a call-to-action, “share or die” doesn’t only refer to resource depletion, disappearing jobs, or stagnating wages. It refers to social death too, and to finding the common sense ideas and practices needed to not only merely survive, but to build a place where it’s worth living. A series of forays into uncharted territory, this graphically rich collection of essays, narratives, and how-tos is an intimate guide to the new economic order and a must-read for anyone attempting to understand what it means to live within the challenges of our time.
Share or Die is available in paperback, Kindle, iPad, or our free online version.
What people are saying about Share or Die:
…more than anything, this is a book of realistic hopefulness, a book that showcases creative, thoughtful people who are learning that there are alternative paths to happiness, that wealth is more than money, and that connectedness is at the core of community.
–Cory Doctorow is the award-winning author of Little Brother, a technology activist, and an editor of BoingBoing.
“Herein lies the real lesson of the Internet…an overturning of the scarcity-based, highly centralized systems that have been in place since the 1300’s, and a rebirth of the values that make human society work.”
–Douglas Rushkoff, media theorist, author of Program or Be Programmed
“If you’re a well-meaning, well-educated, generous person, and you can feel yourself being cornered and hammered relentlessly by a faceless, wicked, out-of-control economy, then Share or Die is the book for you.”
–Bruce Sterling, futurist, award winning SciFi author, journalist, and Wired blogger
“Smart, funny, irreverent, resourceful, committed, visionary – these terms come to mind as you read the passionate voices of the first net-native generation. Share or Die not only depicts and explains the daunting challenges facing young people today, it delivers some very good news: A monsoon of creative, positive energies is already shaping a better future.”
– David Bollier, author of Viral Spiral, commons scholar and activist, blogger at Bollier.org
“I wish I’d read this book when I graduated. I wouldn’t have been less lost, but the beautiful voices, stories and experiences in these pages would have helped me understand that, before I could find myself, I had to lose myself first. If you know someone who dreams of something bigger than being part of the rat race, please give them this book.”
– Raj Patel, author of The Value of Nothing
For press inquiries about Share or Die or print review copies, please contact neal at shareable dot net.