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DEGROWTH: A Vocabulary for a New Era (E-BOOK)
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Degrowth is a rejection of the illusion of growth and a call to repoliticize the public debate colonized by the idiom of economism. It is a project advocating the democratically-led shrinking of production and consumption with the aim of achieving social justice and ecological sustainability. This overview of degrowth offers a comprehensive coverage of the main topics and major challenges of degrowth in a succinct, simple and accessible manner. In addition, it offers a set of keywords useful for intervening in current political debates and for bringing about concrete degrowth-inspired proposals at different levels [en] local, national and global. The result is the most comprehensive coverage of the topic of degrowth in English and serves as the definitive international reference.
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... Degrowth is one possible answer to this challenge. Having emerged in the early 2000s in France, it offers a frame that connects diverse thoughts, ideas and positions related to a radical critique of the capitalist "growth paradigm" (Dale, 2012; see also Schmelzer, 2016), while also offering a new vision of a social-ecological transformation, based on a democratic and redistributive downscaling of the biophysical size of the global economy (Schneider et al., 2010;D'Alisa et al., 2014;Asara et al., 2015). 2 The diagnosis degrowth supporters start from is that the ideology of economic growth is not only economically unsustainable and ecologically catastrophic (Kallis et al., 2009), but also no longer improves social welfare and happiness (Asara et al., 2015; see also Jackson, 2009). In light of this, degrowth advocates argue for the abolition of economic growth as a social objective, a reduction of natural resource consumption and throughput of energy and raw materials, but also, and even more importantly, qualitative changes in the structures of the social metabolism that allow for a degrowth transformation to be socially sustainable and equitable (Schneider et al., 2010;Demaria et al., 2013). ...
... Having emerged in the 2000s in France, degrowth has gained increasing traction in the past two decades, evolving both as a lively field of interdisciplinary research and an international social movement with close ties to other socialecological movements, such as postdevelopment, Buen Vivir, transition towns, eco-socialism and the commons movement (D'Alisa et al., 2014;Treu et al., 2020). What unites the "multiplicity" (Barca et al., 2019; see also Paulson, 2017) of actors in the "degrowth spectrum" (Eversberg & Schmelzer, 2018) is the identification of the capitalist growth imperative as the root cause of contemporary social and environmental challenges and injustice (Kallis et al., 2009;Asara et al., 2015; see also Jackson, 2009). ...
... This shrinking of the economy would presuppose a "decolonization of the imaginary" (Latouche, 2009: 53), by which degrowth advocates like Kallis (2011: 877) mean an "active process of liberation" of social imaginaries from the "economism" dominant in capitalist societies and related ideologies and practices. Furthermore, to allow for such a reduction of material and energy throughput to be socially desirable, just and equitable, beyond a rupture with existing capitalist institutions, "socially sustainable degrowth" 4 (Asara et al., 2015) would require structural changes in all dimensions of society oriented towards principles such as social justice, care, sufficiency, environmental sustainability, conviviality, solidarity and collective self-determination (Barlow et al., 2022;D'Alisa et al., 2014). Systemic shifts of this kind would imply a web of transformations at various levels, from the local to the global scale, involving various actors (e.g. ...
... Other broad values of degrowth include autonomy, sufficiency, caring, conviviality, and commoning. 157 In line with the views from ecological economics, degrowth acknowledges incommensurability and value pluralism, 158 opposing the dominance of market values driving the commodification of nature. 159 Main policy proposals This pathway focuses strongly on the institutional and ideological drivers of environmental degradation, including loss of biodiversity. ...
... Major policy proposals in the degrowth and post-growth literatures include the adoption of alternative indicators of economic progress, green and progressive tax reforms, subsidy reforms (to remove e.g., fossil fuel subsidies), work time reduction and sharing, re-regulating trade, establishing maximum-minimum income ratios, and securing universal basic needs through public services and universal allowances. 44,102,154,157,160,161 Macroeconomic indicators such as GDP fail to value social and environmental costs, economic inequalities, and domestic work, resulting in poor measures of human well-being. 16,43 While cautious of commodifying nature through pricing it, alternative indicators are favored that incorporate unaccounted social and ecological values and costs, including the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI), the Indicator of Sustainable Economic Welfare (ISEW), the Sustainable Development Index (SDI), and Inclusive Wealth. ...
... Se trata de una fuerte contradicción entre políticas de crecimiento económico y políticas de sostenibilidad ambiental: simplemente no es posible un crecimiento económico ilimitado en un mundo limitado; más específicamente, no es posible, en un escenario de crisis ecológica global ya catastrófica, reducir con suficiente entidad, rapidez, de manera global, en sentido absoluto y de manera justa, los impactos de ecológicos mientras la economía sigue creciendo. Para superar las contradicciones entre políticas de sostenibilidad y de crecimiento descritas anteriormente, la fruticultura chilena debería buscar otras estrategias para el futuro: estrategias de transformación social y ecológica más allá del crecimiento (D'Alisa et al., 2015;Demaria et al., 2013;Kothari et al., 2014Kothari et al., , 2019. ...
Este artículo aborda en el caso de la fruticultura la relación contradictoria entre políticas orientadas al crecimiento económico y aquellas que buscan la sostenibilidad ecológica chilena. La historia de crecimiento de ese sector se enfrenta hoy tanto con las crisis climática y ecológica global, como la crisis hídrica nacional, las que plantean desafíos fundamentales. El encuentro entre estas tendencias históricas se analiza en una perspectiva multiescalar y relacional del espacio geográfico y aplicando a ese caso la literatura científica sobre el decrecimiento. El estudio se basa en entrevistas semi-estructuradas a distintos actores de la fruticultura chilena así como a observadores críticos, documentos y estadísticas y trabajo de campo en Chile. Este análisis permite concluir que muchas de las actuales políticas de sostenibilidad aplicadas en la fruticultura chilena son limitadas por los mismos factores que afectan a las políticas ambientales a nivel global, como el aumento del gasto energético y de recursos, los efectos de rebote, el desplazamiento de problemas y un cambio tecnológico insuficiente e inadecuado. Límites que se pueden superar desplegando una estrategia de transformación del sector más allá del objetivo de crecimiento ilimitado. De este modo, el artículo contribuye, por un lado, a la literatura sobre el decrecimiento con un estudio de caso territorializado y multiescalar; y, por otro, a la literatura sobre la historia y la política agraria en Chile, poniéndolas en relación con los desafíos ecológicos globales.
... The feature promotion of social interaction is based on the degrowth principle of conviviality (D'Alisa et al., 2014;Lloveras et al., 2018) and reflected in various practices, also mentioned under the economic dimension, that involve living together, working together, or other forms of collective use of urban space. The same applies to the second feature, socially inclusive, which is reflected in the inclusive approach of these practices (Varvarousis & Koutrolikou, 2018). ...
To inform and operationalize an urban degrowth agenda, more systematic and larger-scale experimentation with degrowth practices is needed. The aim of this study was to explore the suitability of shrinking cities as testing grounds for urban degrowth practices. To answer this question, we analyzed two cases, both urban greening initiatives, located in the shrinking urban region of Parkstad Limburg, in the Netherlands. The cases show that in a shrinking city, with a large surplus of urban land and long-term vacancy and demolishing of buildings, there is literally abundant “room” to experiment with alternative ways and types of urban land use. There is also interest on the side of the local government in alternatives to the conventional approaches to urban planning and development. As both cases can be interpreted as “experiments with urban degrowth practices,” it can be concluded that shrinking cities offer ample opportunities for urban degrowth experiments. The lessons learned from the two studied cases are not very positive concerning the wider feasibility of the tested degrowth practices, but as experiments, the cases can be considered successful. This is because they provided a better understanding of the conditions required for the implementation and upscaling of these practices, also in growing cities. To inform and operationalize an urban degrowth agenda, we, therefore, recommend more research on cases in shrinking cities that can be interpreted and analyzed as experiments with urban degrowth practices.
... Degrowth evolves into a political attitude, bringing together a predominantly European movement of activists and scientists. This attitude aims to search for concrete utopias as alternatives to the imperative of the capitalist development model of continuous growth (Burkhart et al., 2020), an attitude that intends to warn the world about the physical limit of infinite growth and question the image, thinking, and everyday practices of the imperialist dimensions of development (Liegey & Nelson, 2020) as the dominant economic paradigm (D'Alisa et al., 2014;della Porta, 2020). ...
This article explores three examples of urban design initiatives in Genoa in an attempt to highlight the potential and possible contradictions that controlled shrinking projects pose for the future of contemporary cities. Genoa, a symbol of Italian shrinking cities, has been strongly defined over the years by post-industrialisation transformations and by long-standing conditions of urban shrinkage. Despite facing continuous shrinkage, local urban development policies have historically focused exclusively on urban growth and expansion. Only recently have some areas in Genoa started to adopt spatial planning experiences that actively pursue degrowth policies, aiming to reduce existing urban fabric and decrease urban density. These initiatives are adopted in specific areas affected by demographic decline, hydrogeological risks, pollution, or catastrophic events. These spatial strategies justify their existence by invoking concepts like smart shrinkage and degrowth, promising improvements in both environmental and social conditions. However, this article notes how these concepts in Genoa are not aligned with the actual social and environmental challenges that these considerations and positions pose. In fact, the urban renewal initiatives introduced by institutions, in reality, lean towards a strategy of shrinkage and demolition of residential complexes, transportation infrastructure, and productive spaces, with diverse and conflicting results. The observed controlled shrinking projects neglect the synthesis of the territory as a palimpsest, ignore new ecological sensitivities, and lack awareness of the social implications associated with the concepts of smart shrinkage and degrowth. Instead, the three instances introduce a spatial project that still adheres to the underlying principles of growth and exploitation, presenting a shrinkage of the existing urban fabric that is mere illusion. It involves clearing out the deteriorated spaces only to fill them with capitalist rhetoric and models that, instead of creating space, undermine fundamental rights. Nonetheless, a closer examination of these three missed opportunities sheds light on the necessary knowledge, actions, and design approaches for a city to navigate urban shrinkage adeptly. This exploration also reveals the potential for the city to transform into a framework and platform, inspiring and guiding new urban planning paradigms for sustainable development.
... Over time, discourses like degrowth/post-growth and philosophies of good living (e.g. Buen vivir)-as defended mostly by civil society and representatives of Indigenous peopleshave brought forward an increased focus on biocultural and relational values of nature [57,58]. Currently the discourse around the green economy is firmly established in international policy fora, with an emphasis on the instrumental values of nature, while post-growth discourses tend to reflect more diverse values and highlight the inseparability of social justice issues from environmental sustainability [2]. ...
Values play a significant role in decision-making, especially regarding nature. Decisions impact people and nature in complex ways and understanding which values are prioritised, and which are left out is an important task for improving the equity and effectiveness of decision-making. Based on work done for the IPBES Values Assessment, this paper develops a framework to support analyses of how decision-making influences nature as well as whose values get prioritised. The framework is used to analyse key areas of environmental policy: a) the present model for nature protection in market economies, b) the role of valuation in bringing nature values into decisions, and c) values embedded in environmental policy instruments, exemplified by protected areas for nature conservation and payments for ecosystem services. The analyses show that environmental policies have been established as mere additions to decision-making structures that foster economic expansion, which undermines a wide range of nature's values. Moreover, environmental policies themselves are also focused on a limited set of nature's diverse values.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Bringing nature into decision-making’.
... Όσον αφορά τώρα την επιστημολογική θεώρηση των δυο προσεγγίσεων, στην βιβλιογραφία της μεταανάπτυξης σημαντική θέση κατέχει η κριτική της επιστημολογίας του μοντερνισμού και η τεκμηρίωση της σημαντικότητας της «επιστημικής αποαποικιοποίησης» και της ανάδειξης ενός πλήθους γνώσεων (Escobar, 2007). Αντιθέτως η επιστημολογική τοποθέτηση που εντοπίζεται στην σχετική με τη αποανάπτυξη βιβλιογραφία δεν είναι και πάλι ιδιαιτέρα σαφής, αν και προσεταιριζόμενη την έννοια της μετα-κανονικής επιστήμης (PNS) 2 πλησιάζει πολύ αυτήν της μετα-ανάπτυξης (D'Alisa et al, 2015). Τέλος, άλλη διαφορά μεταξύ των δυο προσεγγίσεων εντοπίζεται σε σχέση με το εύρος των μετασχηματιστικών πολιτικών τις οποίες αναδεικνύουν και εξετάζουν (Escobar, 2015). ...
Στη θεματική περιοχή της οικονομικής γεωγραφίας έχει υπάρξει ένα έντονο ενδιαφέρον την τελευταία 20ετία σχετικά με την κοινωνική και αλληλέγγυα οικονομία (ΚΑλΟ) μέσα από την προσέγγιση των ποικίλων οικονομιών και των «εναλλακτικών» οικονομικών και πολιτικών χώρων. Η συζήτηση αυτή είναι άρρηκτα συνδεδεμένη με αυτή της μεταανάπτυξης, η οποία παραπέμπει στη δυνατότητα επιτέλεσης «εναλλακτικών» οραμάτων μέσα από τη δημιουργία διαφορετικών αφηγήσεων και πρακτικών της ανάπτυξης, αλλά και της αποανάπτυξης, η οποία με βάση τον επικρατέστερο ορισμό της «αμφισβητεί την
ηγεμονία της ανάπτυξης και καλεί για μια δημοκρατικά ωθούμενη αναδιανεμητική συρρίκνωση της παραγωγής και της κατανάλωσης στις βιομηχανικές χώρες ως μέσο για την επίτευξη της περιβαλλοντικής βιωσιμότητας, της κοινωνικής δικαιοσύνης και της ευημερίας» (Demaria et al., 2013). Ωστόσο, παρά τη λαμβανόμενη ως δεδομένη συνάφεια μεταξύ των προσεγγίσεων της αποανάπτυξης, της μεταανάπτυξης και του πεδίου της ΚΑλΟ, παραμένει ασαφές και αδιευκρίνιστο τόσο το αν οι αντιλήψεις που διέπουν τους συμμετέχοντες σε εγχειρήματα ΚΑλΟ συνάδουν με τους βασικούς άξονες στους οποίους στηρίζονται οι προαναφερόμενες προσεγγίσεις, όσο και το αν εν τέλει οι πρακτικές που εφαρμόζονται κατά τη λειτουργία των εγχειρημάτων συνάδουν με τους παραπάνω άξονες, αλλά και με το ίδιο το αξιακό πλαίσιο λειτουργίας τους, καθώς συχνά οι υλικοί (και όχι μόνο) περιορισμοί που προέρχονται από το εσωτερικό και εξωτερικό περιβάλλον επιβάλλουν την επαναδιαπραγμάτευση του αξιακού τους πλαισίου. Στην παρούσα εργασία θα συζητηθεί ο τρόπος με τον οποίο διερευνήθηκε το παραπάνω, μέσω ενός θεωρητικού πλαισίου που προκύπτει από την παράλληλη εξέταση των δυο προσεγγίσεων και μέσω ενός σχεδιασμού έρευνας που βασίζεται στη διερεύνηση της αλληλεπίδρασης των εγχειρημάτων με τον χώρο και εν τέλει της συμβολής τους στην χωρική ανάπτυξη, προσπαθώντας να τεκμηριώσουμε την θέση ότι ο χώρος, αν και όχι πάντα άμεσα ορατός, διατρέχει το σύνολο της έρευνας. Επίσης, θα συζητηθεί το πως τα παραπάνω σε συνδυασμό με την ελληνική πραγματικότητα επηρέασαν την επιλογή του πεδίου υπό διερεύνηση, αλλά και των μεθόδων έρευνας που ακολουθήθηκαν. Τέλος, θα αναφερθούμε στις
σημαντικότερες προκλήσεις μιας τέτοιας έρευνας και την διαχείρισή τους, με σκοπό την έναρξη μιας συζήτησης σχετικά με ερευνητικά ζητήματα, τα οποία δεδομένης της έξαρσης του ερευνητικού ενδιαφέροντος για την ΚΑλΟ στην Ελλάδα είναι σημαντικό να λαμβάνονται υπόψη.
... Σύμφωνα με τους Demaria et al. (2013) η αποανάπτυξη αντλεί το βασικό περιεχόμενό της από έξι «πηγές»: τη βιοοικονομία 1 , την οικολογία, τις κριτικές της ανάπτυξης, την ευζωία, τη δημοκρατία και τη δικαιοσύνη. Ακόμη, προκρίνει την τοπικοποίηση των κοινωνικοοικονομικών σχέσεων, ως μια στρατηγική για την επίτευξη οικολογικών στόχων και τη διευκόλυνση της δημοκρατικής λειτουργίας μιας κοινότητας (D'Alisa et al. 2014). Στο πλαίσιο της μετάβασης και παραμονής σε ένα καθεστώς αποανάπτυξης προτείνει διάφορες πολιτικές, όπως η θέσπιση ενός βασικού εγγυημένου εισοδήματος για όλους/ες και ενός ανώτατου εισοδήματος, η κατάργηση της δημόσιας επιδότησης εξορυκτικών δραστηριοτήτων και η αναδιάρθρωση των υποδομών των πόλεων, με έμφαση στην αξιοποίηση του ελεύθερου χρόνου πέρα από καταναλωτικές δραστηριότητες (π.χ. ...
... Sin embargo, estos planes mantienen paradigmas económicos que la crisis sanitaria ha cuestionado seriamente, como el crecimiento sostenido, por lo que objetarlos y diseñar alternativas se hace una necesidad. En este sentido, propuestas como la del decrecimiento en el norte global ayudan a la construcción de una sociedad post pandemia que busca la sostenibilidad, mediante una reducción del uso de energía y recursos, acompañados de una mejora del bienestar y valores de uso (D'Alisa et al., 2015). La gestión del agua no se ve desligada de este debate, pues los procesos de cosecha y reciclado del agua pueden seguir los principios del decrecimiento en ambientes urbanos, donde es necesario lograr un manejo equitativo y sostenible del consumo de agua (Domènech et al., 2013). ...
In the last decade, the Vilcanota River sub-basin (Cusco, Peru) has shown high water vulnerability due to climate change and anthropogenic pressures typical of the economic model. In a context of pandemic and ecological crisis, addressing the complexity of the value of water becomes pertinent in order to overcome the exclusive use of mechanisms to calculate monetary value or sustain environmental governance based on cost-benefit analysis. The main objective of the study was to analyze water consumption rates in the Vilcanota River sub-basin to integrate management with a vision from ecological economics. To do this, the dynamic factors, impacts and responses of water governance were analyzed, and the problem of value was addressed through the analysis of hydrological flows with the ecological economy approach. A high consumption of the household sector was found (urban: 265151.71 m3/h, rural: 163087.50 m3/h), mainly due to urban expansion, change in land use and other local problems in a mainly agricultural area. where an analysis of the social metabolism in the Vilcanota River sub-basin and the inclusion of complexity management in environmental public policy is necessary.
Antonio Gramsci's work has recently been used to explain why socio-technical transitions are not taking place. This literature builds on the Gramscian concepts of transformismo, passive revolutions, or war of positions. Gramsci's work can be insightful for transition scholars as he analyzed why transitions did not take place, as well as what the conditions for a transformation would be. For Gramsci, a transformation was preliminarily an intellectual endeavor. Only when the intellectual war (the war of positions) was won, could a physical war (a war of maneuver) be victorious. Thus, philosophy, ideology, beliefs, or folklore are the arenas that decide upon the success of a transformation. Accordingly, using a neo-Gramscian approach, changing people's worldviews is a vital factor for a successful transformation towards a sustainable society.
Basic Income is a policy idea that could help us revolutionise the way we organise society. This book is the first proper guide to basic income -- what it is, how we can organise it, and how it can benefit the majority in different spheres of their lives.
Basic Income is simply the idea that everyone in a given society has a right to a minimal income. This is paid by the state out of taxation. Set at a subsistence level, it would take the place of unemployment and other benefits. This would bring profound social changes. Anyone could opt out of employment at any time. Those with few skills would no longer be forced to take up jobs with poor prospects, and employers offering McJobs would be forced to offer better terms. And money wasted by the state in means testing and tracing benefit fraud is saved
The campaign in favour of basic income is growing and governments are beginning to take notice. This is a clear, concise guide to the principles and practicalities of this revolutionary idea.
Après 18 ans de travail, Georges Bataille écrit la Part Maudite en 1949. Cet ouvrage peu connu est pourtant majeur, tant est rare une telle lucidité chez un auteur. Anticipant à la fois la crise de l'énergie tout en donnant une explication écologique aux deux guerres mondiales, il fait appel à de nombreuses disciplines (biologie, physique, sociologie) pour nous désigner la part maudite de la richesse matérielle produite. Pour autant, il ne sombre pas dans le pessimisme en soulignant la singularité de la nature humaine par rapport aux autres espèces vivantes.
This paper raises basic questions about the process of economic growth. It questions the assumption, nearly universal since Solow’s seminal contributions of the 1950s, that economic growth is a continuous process that will persist forever. There was virtually no growth before 1750, and thus there is no guarantee that growth will continue indefinitely. Rather, the paper suggests that the rapid progress made over the past 250 years could well turn out to be a unique episode in human history. The paper views the future from 2007 while pretending that the financial crisis did not happen.
This posthumous collection of interviews and occasional papers given by Castoriadis between 1974 and 1997 is a lively, direct introduction to the thinking of a writer who never abandoned his radically critical stance. It provides a clear, handy résumé of his political ideas, in advance of their times and profoundly relevant to today's world. For this political thinker and longtime militant (co-founder with Claude Lefort of the revolutionary group "Socialisme ou Barbarie"), economist, psychoanalyst, and philosopher, two endless interrogations-how to understand the world and life in society-were intertwined with his own life and combats. An important chapter discusses the history of "Socialisme ou Barbarie" (1949-1967); in it, Castoriadis presents the views he defended, in that group, on a number of subjects: a critique of Marxism and of the Soviet Union, the bureaucratization of society and of the workers' movement, and the primacy of individual and collective autonomy. Another chapter presents the concept, central to his thinking, of "imaginary significations" as what make a society "cohere." Castoriadis constantly returns to the question of democracy as the never-finished, deliberate creation by the people of societal institutions, analyzing its past and its future in the Western world. He scathingly criticizes "representative" democracy and develops a conception of direct democracy extending to all spheres of social life. He wonders about the chances of achieving freedom and autonomy-those requisites of true democracy-in a world of endless, meaningless accumulation of material goods, where the mechanisms for governing society have disintegrated, the relationship with nature is reduced to one of destructive domination, and, above all, the population has withdrawn from the public sphere: a world dominated by hobbies and lobbies-"a society adrift."