Scott Nearing

Born in Pennsylvania in 1883, Scott Nearing became known as an economist, educator, writer, and political activist. He taught at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in the early 20th century, but his outspoken views on labor, poverty, and war made him a controversial public figure.

Over the decades, he wrote many books on politics, economics, peace, and daily life. He was also widely associated with the back-to-the-land movement, especially through the life he built with Helen Nearing, promoting self-sufficiency, homesteading, and a deliberately simple way of living.

Nearing lived to the age of 100, dying in 1983. That unusually long life gave him time to influence several generations of readers interested in social justice, antiwar activism, and the practical side of living with less.