The Moneyless Manifesto combines a practical guide to reducing or eliminating dependence on money with potent reflections on why we might want to. Both are born of solid experience. Writing with his natural humour and everyman accessibility, Mark Boyle reminds us of the urgency of living well and escaping the madness of money-led living, not only as a positive lifestyle choice, but as a direct response to the ongoing devastation of our only life-support system, Nature. Boyle’s rarely-trodden path seems to me a key element in our collective groping towards a better way to live. I suspect he will soon have a whole lot more company.
– Shaun Chamberlin, author of The Transition Timeline
Many books have been written on the subject of ‘money’, but very few by people who have actually lived without it. The Moneyless Manifesto is a must read for anyone who wants to reassess their relationship with money. Whatever your circumstances, this book will provide you with the tools and strategies to rewrite your own personal story and will empower you to begin making the transition towards a 100% local gift economy. In this book, Boyle has drawn upon his background in economics, his experience of living both inside and outside the monetary system and the deep insights afforded to him through his reconnection with the natural world. It is a unique and important book for these unique and important times.
– Brigit Strawbridge, star of BBC’s It’s Not Easy Being Green
I’ve heard Mark speak in public and I can tell you it’s a moving experience. His deep compassion, his refusal to shy away from hard truths, his vision of a better future and the power of his personality combine to make it so. I imagine Old Testament prophets must have had the same quality as Mark. In as much as the written word can ever express such passionate communication, it’s here in this book. The Moneyless Manifesto is both a practical guide to creating a gift economy in place of our present money economy and the testament of a truly inspired man.
– Patrick Whitefield, author of The Earth Care Manual
Money is no longer a method of trade and exchange, it has become the control mechanism of 21st century post-industrial society that holds us all in its sway. Mark Boyle’s example of living without money, whilst living a satisfying and full life, explodes the myth that we need money to survive modern life. Quite the opposite, he proves that less money can mean more personal freedom. This is a liberating concept and it paves the way for strategically developing a human-scale gift economy that will set us free.
– Maddy Harland, editor of Permaculture Magazine
This is the time to ask questions that challenge fundamental assumptions hidden beneath our day to day preoccupation with “earning a living”. Mark Boyle’s book does just this. It is courageous, vibrant, and alive with possibility. The Moneyless Manifesto is a call to action, a paean to our beautiful Earth, an invitation to freedom. We would be wise to listen, and remember that inaction is a choice.
– Tim ‘Mac’ Macartney, author of Finding Earth, Finding Soul and founder of Embercombe
In The Moneyless Manifesto, Mark Boyle invites us to develop a different kind of wealth, one based not on money but on the quality of our relationships, connectedness with community and sense of purpose in life. At a time when social, economic and ecological systems might be on the verge of collapse, this book offers an essential pathway to recovery.
– Chris Johnstone, author of Find Your Power and (with Joanna Macy) Active Hope.
I’m not related to Mark Boyle (as far as I know), but I wish I was – not because I have the courage to follow him down all the logical paths he is taking, but because he is a true heretic, in the very best sense of the word: someone who questions everything and comes to dangerous and exciting conclusions about life and the future.
– David Boyle, author of Money Matters, Authenticity and The Human Element
Those days in his caravan can’t have gone to waste as Boyle has clearly been researching this huge body of work. Mark has taken some of the leading thinkers from the present day and the past to write a manifesto for the Occupy generation.
– Andy Hamilton, author of Booze for Free
Mark Boyle really makes you think. If this is a pursuit you enjoy, this is the book for you.
– Tristram Stuart, author of Waste: Uncovering the Global Food Scandal
Part manual and part philosophy, Mark’s book promises to change the way you look at money.
– Dave Hamilton, author of Grow your Food for Free (well almost)
