Hamilton has a BA from the Australian National University and a BEc (Honours) from the University of Sydney. In 1984 he received a DPhil from the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.

Hamilton's work offers a critique of modern capitalism and consumerism. His recent book Towards a Post-Secular Ethics was launched in Canberra by Justice Michael Kirby in 2008. His most recent book is titled "Requiem for a Species".

In June 2007, Hamilton's book Scorcher was sharply criticised by The Australian in an editorial and three opinion pieces. The book elaborated on a speech Hamilton gave in February 2006 accusing the newspaper of openly favouring climate change deniers in its opinion pages. Hamilton responded by criticising the "Australia's Right to Know" campaign, which was hosting a non-partisan conference on media reform, for inviting The Australian to participate. Indicative of his lack of political standing, Marian Wilkinson did not follow up on the spat after reviewing the book in The Sydney Morning Herald in April; this was despite the fact she was the only reviewer to discuss Hamilton's criticism of the newspaper.

On 23 October 2009, Hamilton was announced as the Australian Greens candidate for the by-election in the federal seat of Higgins. He ran against nine others for the seat, and came second, receiving 32.40 percent of primary votes and 39.77 percent of preferred votes. The Australian Labor Party did not run a candidate in the election.

Views on internet censorship

Hamilton is a supporter of internet censorship in Australia.

Books by Clive Hamilton include:

• The Economic Dynamics of Australian Industry (1992)
• The Mystic Economist (1994)
• Evaluating a Policy Experiment (1998)
• Ideas for an Ecologically Sustainable Future (1997)
• The Development of Climate Change Policy in Australia (2001)
• Growth Fetish (2003)
• When Too Much is Never Enough (2005)
• Capitalist Industrialization in Korea
• Growth, Efficiency and Fixed Capital in Linkage Analysis
• What's Left? The Death of Social Democracy (2006)
• The Dirty Politics of Climate Change (2007)
• How the Australian Government Is Controlling Public Opinion and Stifling Debate (2007)
• Towards a Post-Secular Ethics (2008)
• Why We Resist The Truth About Climate Change (2010)