author
Scott Nearing
1883–1983
A radical economist, teacher, and activist, he spent a century arguing that a good life should be measured by justice, peace, and self-reliance rather than profit. His books and example helped inspire generations of readers interested in simple living and back-to-the-land ideas.
6 Audiobooks
The American Empire
by Scott Nearing
Civilization and Beyond: Learning from History
by Scott Nearing
The Debs Decision
by Scott Nearing
The Super Race: An American Problem
by Scott Nearing
The Next Step: A Plan for Economic World Federation
by Scott Nearing
About the author
Born in Pennsylvania in 1883, Scott Nearing became known as an economist, educator, writer, and outspoken critic of war and inequality. He taught at the Wharton School and later at the University of Toledo, but his political views repeatedly put him at odds with powerful institutions, and his dismissal from Wharton became a well-known controversy on the American left.
Nearing wrote widely on economics, peace, social change, and daily life. He opposed U.S. involvement in World War I, was prosecuted under the Espionage Act, and remained active for decades as a pacifist, socialist, vegetarian, and public speaker. His long career made him a distinctive voice in 20th-century American radical thought.
Many readers now remember him most for the life he built with Helen Nearing in Vermont and later Maine. Together they practiced homesteading and wrote influential books about simple, disciplined, self-sufficient living, helping shape the modern back-to-the-land movement. Nearing died in 1983, just shy of his 100th birthday.