The Value of a Whale: On the illusions of green capitalism

The Value of a Whale examines an emergent green capitalism and the market-centric thinking on which it is founded, from the false promise of ‘green finance’ to carbon markets and the creeping commodification of nature. The Value of a Whale was selected as a ‘Best new book on climate and the environment’ by the Financial Times, and was a WIRED Magazine Best Book of 2022. Available from Manchester University Press.

Winner of the 2024 Zencey Prize in Ecological Economics

“The question of who should own what in our economy still hangs in the air. This pacy and accessible book unpacks the issues and offers solutions with a welcome dash of imagination and optimism” — Aditya Chakrabortty, The Guardian

“An ambitious book that should inspire many to help work out the details of a much needed transition.” — Katharina Pistor

“Lawrence and Buller map out how we can escape from a world of escalating competition over dwindling assets towards a future where the inherent value of every person is recognised. Read this if you want to maintain any hope in a different vision of the twenty-first century.” — Kojo Koram, author of Uncommon Wealth

Owning the Future begins from the insight that ownership fundamentally shapes how our economies and societies operate, and in whose interests, and must be reimagined to address the crises of our time at their root. We argue for an economy founded in democratic ownership, and offer proposals for building it. Available from Verso.

Selected Coverage

·       ‘They teach us’: how whales can help dispel the myth of green capitalism, The Guardian

·      Where capitalism and conservation meet, The Economist

·       Adrienne Buller: ‘Green capitalism is its own form of denial’, The New Statesman

·       Best new books on climate and the environment, The Financial Times

·       Green capitalism is a scam: A conversation with Adrienne Buller, The Los Angeles Review of Books

·       The 12 Best Books of 2022, WIRED

·       Penge i banken er ikke meget værd, hvis planeten går bankerot, Politiken

·       Can Putting a Price on a Whale Save the Environment?, Scientific American

·       Adrienne Buller on green capitalism and the pitfalls of climate finance, The Syllabus

·       Cop15 essential reading: seven books that explain the biodiversity crisis, The Guardian

·       I klimakrisen har vi ikke tid til at lade markedets prissignaler dreje udviklingen, Information