Insight and inspiration in turbulent times.
While not offering a critique of the degrowth discourse, I throw some light on the debate by offering a deeper and more useful conceptualization that avoids the negative connotations of, and resistance to, “degrowth”
There is no doubt that as a species we have to downsize if we are to respect the limits; not only for ourselves but —just as importantly— for the millions of other species that co-inhabit the earth with us. It is timely, therefore, to talk of degrowth in the context of humanity as a whole, and most certainly in the context of the Global North which is overconsuming and overdumping.
If we have to be “punk as f*ck” to be part of this revolution, then many people I know doing phenomenal things wouldn’t be able to take part. And that’s a shame.
“Very serious people often tell us that the word “degrowth” is too negative. People like happy, positive, nice things. Sure, the economy is systematically destroying life on earth. But nobody wants to degrow it. Instead, these critics prefer words like “post-growth,” “a-growth,” “re-growth”, even the mythical “green growth.” They want to create a circular economy, … Read more
…I want to broach some wider energy-related issues with the help of two acquaintances of this site, before narrowing the scope to agricultural energy in a future post.
The ‘Great Acceleration’ of economic activity in the past 60 years has led to a series of interlocking crises. Here’s why a Great Deceleration is necessary for us “to live again with affection and beauty on this earth.”
Here I propose a new term that might combine the advantages of the word degrowth with those of its more positive alternatives.
You cannot think about the commons if you don’t ask yourself at the same time who creates them, who cares for them, who protects them and who reproduces them.
Degrowth is usually translated into German as “Postwachstum” (post growth) or “Wachstumsrücknahme” (reversing growth), but it can also be translated as “ausgewachsen” (grown up).
The accelerationists begrudged the enviros their grub-eating utopia while they ruminated on their own techno-fetishes. Was it just an armistice to prepare for a bigger battle down the road, or was there really less animosity than I imagined?
I think about capitalism as a moment. A blink in time.
Can degrowth be considered a movement? Does degrowth embrace all kinds of movements struggling for a sustainable future?
