In this wide-ranging book, the author explores how we can thrive when the economy slows down and even shrinks. We are facing a period of degrowth because the time of Cheap Oil, which has fueled our economic growth for 250 years, is over. What's more, our current high-consumption lifestyle is making energy demands that will soon outstrip the capacity of the environment to renew itself. It's an ecological overshoot, the hallmark of many declining civilizations throughout history. So what are we supposed to do now? We'll need to consume less and conserve more. But it is possible to thrive in this world, and there's a proven model that shows how: Co-ops. They've been successful in many spheres of life, from agriculture to housing to finance, and they've succeeded even in bad times. This is a book that provides a workable solution to the problems of our time, solution that can be embraced by thinkers and policy-makers across the political spectrum.