A Reasonable Life

Ferenc Máté contends that the time has come to remake how we live, shifting toward a scale that suits people. He describes a world where the natural environment is badly strained and where long-standing cultural landmarks and urban centers are wearing away. Chasing ever-faster mechanical development, he says, has harmed more than the planet: it has worn down neighborhoods, households, and the bonds between friends. The book is wry and often bleak in its observations, and Máté doubts that environmental activism alone can slow the damage, comparing it to trying to halt a locomotive with a single feather.

His remedy begins with individuals. Máté asks readers to put basic human needs and the inner life ahead of accumulating possessions, and to reconsider what they expect from a job, a home, daily routines, financial safety, and success. He also urges a renewal of the institutions that anchor a community: the small town, the family, and a self that is dignified and attentive to others. In his view, only by rebuilding these foundations can the earth return to the paradise that people once enjoyed without appreciating it.