Act: Inspiration

Life in ‘Degrowth’ Economy: Envisioning a Prosperous Descent (Part IV of Ecological Civilisation)

By Samuel Alexander, originally published by The Simplicity Institute

March 28, 2022

degrowth graffiti

What would daily life would be like in a ‘degrowth’ economy? That is, in an economy seeking planned contraction of energy and resource demands in order to achieve sustainability, equity, and social wellbeing. In this presentation Samuel Alexander explores theses issues by seeking to envision what such a ‘prosperous descent’ might look like.

This is Part IV of the Ecological Civilisation series. The introduction to this series is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxC-r…

The series is grappling with the problems of consumerism and the growth economy; envisioning alternative, post-carbon ways of life; and considering what action can be taken, both personally and politically, to help build an ecological civilisation. New presentations will be added to this playlist over time: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list…

You can support this channel by purchasing an e-book from the Simplicity Institute, available on a ‘pay what you can’ basis (edit the price as you choose for a donation):

https://249897.e-junkie.com

Paperbacks are available here:

https://au.permacultureprinciples.com…

Samuel Alexander’s work is available here: http://samuelalexander.info

The Simplicity Institute website is here: https://simplicityinstitute.org

If you find this presentation stimulating but would like more detail, see Entropia: Life Beyond Industrial Civilisation, available here:

https://249897.e-junkie.com/product/1…

Other books and essays mentioned in the presentation include David Holmgren’s Retrosuburbia, available here:

https://au.permacultureprinciples.com

Ted Trainer’s essay, “Remaking Settlements” available here:

https://journals.librarypublishing.ar…

And Local is Our Future, by Helena Norberg-Hodge: https://www.localfutures.org/publicat…

Thanks to Andrew Doodson, Jordan Osmond, and Antoinette Wilson for offering invaluable production advice.

The opening image is kindly provided by Melissa Davis.

Other image references are available here:

http://samuelalexander.info/image-ref…

The music is provided by Mortimer’s Method: https://mortimersmethod.bandcamp.com

 

Teaser photo credit:Moss Graffiti | Image: Kulturlabor Trial&Error, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Samuel Alexander

Dr. Samuel Alexander, co-director of the Simplicity Institute, is a lecturer at the Office for Environmental Programs, University of Melbourne, Australia, teaching a course called ‘Consumerism and the Growth Economy: Critical Interdisciplinary Perspectives’ into the Master of Environment. He is also a Research Fellow with the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute. He is author of eighteen books, including Degrowth in the Suburbs: A Radical Urban Imaginary (2018), Art Against Empire: Toward an Aesthetics of Degrowth (2017), Just Enough is Plenty: Thoreau’s Alternative Economics (2016), Prosperous Descent: Crisis as Opportunity in an Age of Limits (2015), Sufficiency Economy: Enough, for Everyone, Forever (2015), and Entropia: Life Beyond Industrial Civilisation (2013), and he is editor of Voluntary Simplicity: The Poetic Alternative to Consumer Culture (2009) and co-editor of Simple Living in History: Pioneers of the Deep Future (2014). A full publication list is available here.

As well as his academic work, in recent years Sam has been working on a ‘simpler way’ demonstration project which became the subject of a documentary, ‘A Simpler Way: Crisis as Opportunity‘. He is also founder of the Simplicity Collective, a website and social network dedicated to exploring the relationships between voluntary simplicity, energy descent, and post-growth / degrowth economics.  Dr. Alexander’s PhD thesis, conducted through Melbourne Law School, is entitled “Property beyond Growth: Toward a Politics of Voluntary Simplicity”.

paradigm shift

How to build community resilience in the face of abrupt economic decline

By Jan Spencer, Resilience.org

Benicia, California, is set to lose its largest single employer and source of tax revenue, a sprawling oil refinery. A Guardian article about this issue catalyzed this essay that describes what a thoughtful process might look like, if a community – any community – chose to pursue sustainability instead of economic growth.

April 2, 2026

podcast graphic

We Have to Start Talking About Money Trauma

By Miho Soon, Post-Growth Institute

It’s curious that money trauma hasn’t gone into the mainstream yet. It’s one of the most fundamental forces shaping how we move around in our lives, and yet it remains incredibly taboo.

March 31, 2026

bookcover

There is an Alternative

By Jeremy Lent, Resilience.org

The gap between the beckoning future of an ecocivilization and today’s grim reality is only too clear. But to the extent that meaningful hope does arise, it emerges from the very ruptures of our present breakdown. As the weave of our dominant system unravels, possibilities emerge to reweave our societal fabric into a new design.

March 31, 2026