The quest for real democracy is one of the components of sustainable degrowth. But the incipient debate on democracy and degrowth suffers from general defi-nitions and limited connections to political philosophy and democracy theory. This article offers a critical review of democracy theory within the degrowth literature, taking as its focal point a relevant debate between Serge Latouche and Takis Fotopoulos. We argue that the core of their contention can be traced back to the relationship between the (...) concepts of democracy and autonomy as defined by philosopher Cornelius Castoriadis, which both authors and generally the degrowth movement consider as one of their theoretical reference points. We show how both Latouche and Fotopoulos hold a misconception of Castoriadis’ notions of autonomy, the social imaginary and politics, which in turn limits their cognisance of democracy and hence confuses their debate concerning the possibilities for a degrowth transition within the confines of a liberal parliamentary democracy. With a clarified theoretical understanding of the interconnected democracy-autonomy assemble, we proceed to an evaluation of the revolutionary potential of the degrowth movement and to a better understanding of a possible relationship between democracy and degrowth. (shrink)

Degrowth scholarship has long been mainly focused on prefigurative politics and alternative projects originating from the grassroots. Only recently, there is a growing interest in the role of the state and its institutions for bringing about social-ecological transformation. The judicial terrain, however, is still widely neglected in the degrowth literature despite an empirical increase in legal struggles on the part of civil society organizations, NGOs, and social movements. In this paper, I will explore the role of the law (...) in transformative processes from a critical realist perspective. At the heart of the theoretical debate is the question of whether law is a suitable mechanism for changing the fundamental structures of a capitalist society, or whether it is part of that structure and therefore needs to be transformed itself. Building on a doctrinal, a visionary, and a critical perspective on legal transformations, I lay out a critical realist approach to law in transformation. (shrink)

The call for ‘sustainable degrowth’ has recently turned into a focal point of critical social and ecological debate, as well as a framework for diverse strands of activism. So far, little is known about the motives, attitudes and practices of grassroots activists within the degrowth spectrum. This article presents results of a survey conducted at the 2014 International Degrowth Conference, revealing both the presence of a widely shared basic consensus among respondents and their broad division into five (...) distinguishable sub-currents. A cluster analysis shows that degrowth provides a framework for a diversity of critical and transformational approaches. We identify and describe five such currents: eco-radical sufficiency-oriented critics of civilisation; moderate immanent reformers; a transitory group of voluntarist-pacifist idealists; the modernist rationalist Left; and the alternative practical Left. (shrink)

The rapidly expanding degrowth literature has focused predominantly on the case for degrowth and its goals and much less attention has been given to how it might be achieved. The following discussion is not concerned to review the current state of the discussion and refers to it only in order to develop a case for a particular approach to degrowth strategy, that is, one deriving from the simpler way perspective on the global predicament. This focuses on the (...) alarming and poorly recognised extent to which global sustainability limits have been exceeded. When this is understood it is clear that extremely radical solutions must be sought. There has to be transition to far simpler lifestyles and systems. This requires abandoning various fundamental structures and taken-for-granted assumptions and ways. Thus it will be argued that numerous degrowth strategies are inappropriate, including attempting to reform existing governmental policies and adopting eco-socialist goals and means. This perspective on the situation has coercive implications for viable strategy. One major implication of the simpler way perspective is that ends and means must be anarchist. (shrink)

Degrowth research critiques the ideology of growth but does not explain how degrowth values gain public traction and turn into a new ideology. This article shows that degrowth values emerge from the contestation of institutions that maintain the growth imperative and the proposition of new institutions embodying alternative values. First, the article problematises the (counter)hegemonic challenge posed by degrowth, explaining why degrowth research needs to question the institutions that influence social practices. Second, it conceptualises (...) class='Hi'>degrowth as a double movement of contestation and proposition that works within and against the ideological apparatus sustaining the growth imperative. The historical struggle to save the Lutkemeerpolder in Amsterdam – the last remaining agricultural land in the city – shows how a degrowth ideology developed through the contestation of the institutional apparatus sustaining the growth of the airport-related industry. This struggle unfolded into a wider movement that has proposed new institutions embodying degrowth values such as commoning and conviviality. (shrink)

Degrowth is the literal translation of ‘décroissance’, a French word meaning reduction. Launched by activists in 2001 as a challenge to growth, it became a missile word that sparks a contentious debate on the diagnosis and prognosis of our society. ‘Degrowth’ became an interpretative frame for a new (and old) social movement where numerous streams of critical ideas and political actions converge. It is an attempt to re-politicise debates about desired socio-environmental futures and an example of an activist-led (...) science now consolidating into a concept in academic literature. This article discusses the definition, origins, evolution, practices and construction of degrowth. The main objective is to explain degrowth's multiple sources and strategies in order to improve its basic definition and avoid reductionist criticisms and misconceptions. To this end, the article presents degrowth's main intellectual sources as well as its diverse strategies (oppositional activism, building of alternatives and political proposals) and actors (practitioners, activists and scientists). Finally, the article argues that the movement's diversity does not detract from the existence of a common path. (shrink)

Based on an extensive qualitative study, this paper explores sustainability in two Danish ecovillages and discusses the findings (meta)theoretically. Linked to the degrowth literature, it takes its point of departure in critical realism by identifying mechanisms related to (un)sustainability in these ecovillages. The most important mechanism generating their sustainable practices is identified as a subsistence political economy, a mechanism rooted in infrastructures such as regenerative farming and direct democracy. However, there is another important mechanism affecting the sustainability of the (...) ecovillages, namely middle-class ideals. This mechanism generates unsustainable, growth-oriented lifestyles, which are also rooted in infrastructures such as large family houses and divisions between the private and the communal. Generally, it is concluded that in these two ecovillages the subsistence political economy mechanism ensures a move towards more sustainable lifestyles for all villagers, while infrastructure sustaining middle-class ideals pulls in the opposite direction. (shrink)

The main goal of the following article is to present and justify the philosophical concept of degrowth as a real alternative to the cult of (unlimited economic) growth, the driving force of which is the pursuit of profit, which devastates the individual and the entire society, and last but not least, nature and the climate. It is also critical of today’s generally recognized options for solving the climate crisis, such as the strategy of the so-called sustainable development or green (...) growth, which – as the author shows with several examples – may indeed help to solve it, but they do not consistently solve it. Such a permanent solution must involve a total and radical change in the way of life, which, would limit people, but would also be attractive enough for them. Although the focus is on a philosophical analysis of the whole issue, the author considers its historical, sociological and political aspects as well, to avoid excessive generalities and at the same time keep its philosophical breadth and depth. ---------------------------------------- Received: 19/06/2024. Reviewed: 3/10/2024. Accepted: 5/11/2024. (shrink)

Capitalism is often modernised and stabilised by its very critics. Gramsci called this paradox a ‘passive revolution’. What are the pitfalls through which critique becomes absorbed? This question is taken up using a Cultural Political Economy approach for analysing the resistant potential of ‘degrowth discourses’ against the neoliberal hegemony. Degrowth advocates an economy without growth in order to achieve the transformation that is necessary in ecological and social terms. It thus does not follow the neoliberal idea of green (...) capitalism that already has absorbed much environmental critique. This paper argues that degrowth needs to be further differentiated in order to draw any conclusions about its counter-hegemonic potential. Three dimensions are iden-tified for differentiating sub-hegemonic from counter-hegemonic degrowth positions: the mode of growth critique, the interpellation of the individual and the subsequent actions motivated. (shrink)

This article explores the existential conditions for a transition towards socioeconomic degrowth through an analysis of a paradigm shift between two extreme polarities of socio-ecological positioning: the Dominant Social Paradigm (DSP) and the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP). It is suggested that the transition from one to the other – understood as the first collective step towards degrowth – requires a transformation in the way we, in western capitalist society, define ourselves in relation to nature. This identity transformation corresponds (...) with the reconnection between humans and nature that ecopsychology has been calling for since its emergence in the 1970s. However, according to recent empirical studies in existential psychology, such a transformation contains potentially disquieting aspects, since it implies recognising and accepting the idea of our own mortality. Staging a dialogue between ecopsychology and critical degrowth theories, this article argues that the necessary transition towards degrowth requires new ways of dealing with these existential fears – namely, confronting them in a ‘reflexive’ rather than ‘defensive’ way – so as to develop relationships with nature that respect the limits of the biosphere. (shrink)

Why is degrowth being sidelined by some of its highest profile populist writers? Is the term degrowth too negative and neo-Malthusian? Should degrowth be treated as a quantitative reduction in economic growth or GDP? Is degrowth drifting from its origins? What happened to degrowth's foundational concerns for limits to growth and stopping the imperialist spread of growth as development? Are pragmatic political alliances now creating fundamental contradictions? Answering such questions this article probes into the attempts (...) to unify disparate theories and ideas and the rise of alliances under the banner of post-growth. The compatibility of four approaches is probed based on high profile advocates public speeches: degrowth (Giorgos Kallis), post-growth (Tim Jackson), doughnut economics (Kate Raworth) and steady-state economics (Timothy Parrique). The speeches are primarily the plenary presentations given at the two major European Parliament conferences profiling the degrowth community within policy-making circles: Post-Growth 2018 and Beyond Growth 2023. Uncritical broad alliances are brought into question as conflicting with creating meaningful and coherent understanding. Three issues are then discussed further: conceptualising the growth imaginary, the reality of limits, and development within planetary boundaries. The analysis suggests a series of ways forward using critical realism as under-labourer. These include applying rational judgement to choose between theories, realism in conceptualisation, and investigating causal mechanisms and structure to identify potentiality for systems change. (shrink)

The 200+ years of capitalist development has radically altered the entire Earth – especially increased atmospheric carbon dioxide that causes global warming. The prevailing global economic system will most likely place the world’s environment in danger, eventually posing a threat to humanity’s existence on the small Spaceship Earth. The most effective, moral, and rational solution would be “degrowth.” The degrowth movement aims to reshape society from its current trends of environmental damage, alienation, and inequality towards establishing communities that (...) promote harmony, respect for the environment, and extension of local democracy by enabling labour to employ capital instead of capital employing labour. Degrowth would most likely entail adopting Buddhist economics suggested by E. F. Schumacher, the author of Small Is Beautiful (1973). Schumacher advocated for the world to adopt the Buddhist points of view regarding “the function of work,” “the pattern of consumption,” “the standard of living,” and “the use of natural resources.” We, the earthlings, need a bit of horse sense rather than highfalutin economic growth models. It is wrong to suppose that the human species has any special privilege to escape extinction. Degrowth or growth will soon be a life-or-death question for humanity. (shrink)

Degrowth cannot be realised from within a capitalist society, since growth is the sine qua non for capitalism. But, societies are no blank slates; they are not built from scratch. Putting these two thoughts together seems to make degrowth logically impossible. In this paper we argue that this paradox can be solved with the use of classical and contemporary concepts from the social sciences. We illustrate the use of these concepts with reference to studies on current practices and (...) patterns of food production and consumption. The concept of social mechanism is used to illustrate how social practices can simultaneously reinforce and challenge the dominant (food) regime. We argue that current discussions on degrowth fail to envision how such contrasting developments are linked, and that the degrowth paradox originates in the idea of capitalism and the steady-state economy as alternative systems. The paradox dissolves with studies of mechanisms and social practices that show how the two systems are not autonomous, but ‘hybridised’ and come into existence and gain shape as reactions to each other. (shrink)

This article investigates human–nature relations in the light of the recent call for degrowth, a radical reduction of matter–energy throughput in over-producing and over-consuming cultures. It outlines a culturally sensitive response to a (conceived) paradox where humans embedded in nature experience alienation and estrangement from it. The article finds that if nature has a core, then the experienced distance makes sense. To describe the core of nature, three temporal lenses are employed: the core of nature as ‘the past’, ‘the (...) future’, and ‘the present’. It is proposed that while the degrowth movement should be inclusive of temporal perspectives, the lens of the present should be emphasised to balance out the prevailing romanticism and futurism in the theory and practice of degrowth. (shrink)

Insofar as development implies economic growth, the term ‘sustainable development’ appears to some as a contradiction in terms. However, such conclusions still lack a thorough examination of the conceptual structure of the two terms between which there is a purported contradiction. In order to address this issue, the present paper scrutinises some of the assumptions which underwrite the ideologies of sustainability and of development. It is argued that there are key assumptions which both ideas have in common, and that sustainable (...) development is thus perfectly coherent on a conceptual level. It is alternatives which retain either term (such as ‘sustainable degrowth') that are embroiled in paradox. The paper then examines two concepts for criticising the ideology of economic growth in other terms: dépense and conviviality. It is argued that the latter is preferable to the former for the purpose of developing post-sustainable critiques of growth. (shrink)

Forests are under immense stress globally. Economic growth is one reason for this: its impacts can lead to deforestation and put tremendous harvesting pressure on forests. In light of increasingly popular – and growth-based – bio-economy strategies, the need for more wood is likely to accelerate. Degrowth, in contrast, rejects economic growth as the central economic principle, arguing that the material throughput of countries in the Global North must shrink to achieve global sustainability. Although the concept has gained importance, (...) there have been no attempts to link degrowth with the forest sector. This article argues that degrowth principles are beneficial for basing the forest sector on sustainable grounds, while the degrowth movement also needs to define its relationship to the forest. Against this backdrop, this contribution sets the cornerstone by linking the Swiss forest sector to central degrowth principles, and discussing possible interrelations and mismatches. Finally, a future research agenda for degrowth and the forest sector is presented. (shrink)

Multi-scalar strategies, upscaling local degrowth initiatives, and rescaling are considered necessary for transforming towards degrowth. With burgeoning research on spatiality and scales in the degrowth literature, it becomes pertinent to reflect on the ontological foundations underlying the concept of scale and to strengthen some common ground for approaches to scales for the degrowth agenda. Being informed by the critical realist ontology, this paper aims to lay an ontological underpinning for degrowth scalar approaches, situated within the (...) planning context. The argument starts with an ontological inquiry of ‘what is scale’. With an understanding of spatial scales as social structures, the argument moves to explicate ‘how does scale matter for degrowth initiatives’. This explication conceptualises five dimensions relevant to the degrowth agenda: scalarising degrowth values and norms, scalar mechanisms, scalar strategies, cross-scale impacts and rescaling. The conceptual framework is then further illustrated by exploring multi-scalar strategies for degrowth housing development and planning, partly contextualised by the case of Oslo City. Finally, the paper concludes with suggestions on ‘how can degrowth research and movements better integrate the question of scale’. Explanatory, critical, relational and holistic approaches are proposed as ways of taking spatial scales into account as an integral part of degrowth transformation. (shrink)

Our case study draws on emerging ideas of degrowth, showing how degrowth values and strategies may emerge where cities rely heavily on global food systems, and contributes to literature on food for degrowth in local contexts. Degrowth rejects the imperative of economic growth as a primary indicator of social wellness. A holistic understanding of wellness prescribes radical societal transformation, downscaling and decreasing consumption, strengthening community relationships and promoting resilience. Building on Bloemmen et al. (2015), we apply (...) a holistic model of degrowth in a small-scale context, embedded within larger capitalist economies, to examine degrowth opportunities and constraints in Edmonton, Canada. Emergent themes in interviews reveal opportunities and challenges for local food for degrowth, by altering local food supplies, reducing food waste and decreasing consumption. We explore the role of social relationships in food justice work, increasing food knowledge, and building capacity for local, sustainable food production. (shrink)

This paper explores John Dewey’s debt to Hegel by examining the relationship between his conception of growth and Bildung. Dewey’s notion of the progressive subject takes the project of education as unending—it is both a personal and collective process that strives to synthesise competing social values democratically. Despite Dewey’s rejection of absolutism and idealism, his teleological commitment to democracy reveals his tendency to revert to Hegel’s philosophical ideals. Although Dewey was aware of capitalism’s power to eclipse the advance of democracy, (...) the Deweyan subject is no less a rational actor than homo economicus, making educational and democratic growth easily susceptible to market forces. This examination questions the extent to which our contemporary understanding of educational growth, inherited from Dewey, grounds itself in self-limitation—a quality that is central to the degrowth movement. This paper will evaluate whether Dewey’s concept of growth is compatible with economic degrowth and its understanding of finite natural resources and the environmental dangers of capitalist expansion. An answer lies in the philosophy of Cornelius Castoriadis, who contended that self-limitation is essential for democracy to thrive and for the character of the social imaginary to shift. As we face a global environmental crisis, this shift is necessary. This article investigates whether Bildung, growth, and Castoriadis’ concept of paideia are all the same idea by different names, equally prone to neoliberal ‘reconciliation’ or able to penetrate the current dominant imaginary towards degrowth. (shrink)

The global ecological crisis has often been related to the so-called Great Acceleration, i.e. the rapid growth of many social metrics (population size, gross domestic product, energy usage, etc.) from the mid-20th century onwards. The degrowth movement has opposed the great economic expansion by advocating for a simplified society and decreased human use of energy and natural resources. In this paper, I will analyse the semiotic aspects of this process as a semiotic acceleration, and argue that transformation into the (...) degrowth society can be supported by the restructuration of human semiotic systems towards more coherence and better connectivity with ecological processes. The semiotic acceleration manifests as a massive multiplication and spread of abstract signs and information content that is detached from ecological and material processes, and lacks value-based organization. To support the degrowth transformation, I propose the semiosis of the living as an understanding that significance arises first and foremost from semiotic participation in specific lived ecologies (cultural, ecological, and material), placement and rootedness of the given act of semiosis in the particular semiotic fabric and the unfolding of the world. The semiosis of the living re-grounds the human semiotic processes in the patterns of iconic and indexical relations shared by humans and non-human species alike. (shrink)

The Voluntary Simplicity Movement can be understood broadly as a diverse social movement made up of people who are resisting high consumption lifestyles and who are seeking, in various ways, a lower consumption but higher quality of life alternative. The central argument of this paper is that the Voluntary Simplicity Movement or something like it will almost certainly need to expand, organise, radicalise and politicise, if anything resembling a degrowth society is to emerge in law through democratic processes. In (...) a sentence, that is the ‘grass-roots’ or ‘bottom up’ theory of legal and political transformation that will be expounded and defended in this paper. The essential reasoning here is that legal, political and economic structures will never reflect a post-growth ethics of macro-economic sufficiency until a post-consumerist ethics of micro-economic sufficiency is embraced and mainstreamed at the cultural level. (shrink)

Wenn man nicht länger wachsen kann, muss man stagnieren oder gar schrumpfen. Für unsere auf Dauerwachstum programmierte und einseitig auf das BIP fokussierte Wirtschaft ein Horrorszenario. Ist ein grünes Wachstum der Ausweg oder müssen wir uns sogar vom Kapitalismus verabschieden? Bei diesen Fragen geht es ans Eingemachte.

Entrepreneurship research has long privileged economic motivations - profit, market opportunities, and innovation - often sidelining the constitutive role of ideology. This article challenges that dominant paradigm by proposing a conceptual framework that foregrounds the ideological entrepreneur: an actor who strategically employs venture creation as a tool for political world-building. Drawing on Deleuze and Guattari’s notions of deterritorialization, Hirschman’s theory of exit, voice, and loyalty, and Slobodian’s analyses of neoliberal zone-making, we delineate how ideologically motivated entrepreneurs construct alternative socio-technical systems (...) to realize distinct, often competing, visions of the future. We examine three primary archetypes: right-accelerationist entrepreneurs leveraging technology to build enclaves facilitating exit from democratic oversight; left- accelerationists mobilizing automation for systemic post-capitalist transformation; and degrowth/decelerationist actors constructing alternative, ecologically-grounded, and human-centric economies. These ventures aim not only to disrupt markets but also reshape societal norms, ethical principles, and systems of governance. We contribute to emerging heterodox perspectives within entrepreneurship studies by recasting the entrepreneur as a potent ideological agent. (shrink)

In this paper, we consider the grounds for Degrowth to be an ethical imperative in today's world. We then examine the various objections to Degrowth, and the counter-arguments to these oppositions. Finally, we tackle the biggest objection to Degrowth: that it is irresponsible utopian dreaming and that there is no realistic way to implement it in our society. So, this paper defends the need for degrowth to ensure the inclusive wellbeing of humanity as a whole. The (...) authors plead for Degrowth, which can vouch for our sustainability. They hold that striving for sustainable Degrowth is the ethical imperative imposed on us by future generations. (shrink)

The aim of the article is to reflect on the degrowth strategy. Pointing out various difficulties, the author focuses on identifying the field that degrowth theories cannot ignore if they want to be effective: the dominant political economy. Following Marx's thought, the author argues that the mode of functioning of society adequate to the postulates of degrowth would have to be "narrowed reproduction." This is a difficult move because, in addition to the logic of accumulation, there is (...) also the mechanism of alienation and our consumption habits to overcome. Only against this background can we look for examples of radical social change, the scale of which would meet the requirements of degrowth. According to the author, such an example may be the frequent abandonment of agriculture in the Neolithic era (Graeber, Wengrow). However, it is not about (impossible) repeating such a decision, but about the very ability to make it, as a cultural pattern. However, this means decapita(lisa)tion of capital. (shrink)

This article analyses technological ambivalence and its implications for degrowth scholarship and practice. We critically examine and reject the assumption of ontological ambivalence, in which technologies are understood as indeterminate with respect to their socio-ecological conditions and consequences. We distinguish this from epistemological ambivalence, in which ambivalence refers to indecisiveness in human interpretations, experiences and valuations of technology. We show that parts of contemporary degrowth scholarship implicitly rely on an ontological reading of technological ambivalence in discussions of technological (...) solutions, such as lower-carbon energy systems. Drawing on critical realism and philosophical materialism, we argue that technologies are materially and biophysically real and have determinate conditions of existence, including unavoidable environmental impacts and socially uneven conditions of production. On this basis, we contend that ambivalence should be understood as a feature of human interpretation and valuation rather than an intrinsic property of technological objects. We suggest that degrowth scholarship reject ontological accounts of technological ambivalence in favour of epistemological ones and adopt a more critical stance toward the assumption that advanced modern technologies can be made environmentally sustainable. (shrink)

In this article I explore what critical realist critical ethical naturalism offers degrowth. I briefly set out what degrowth seeks to achieve. I then move on to provide a short account of what critical ethical naturalism is a reaction to, before setting out a generic critical realist account. I then move on to discuss what it offers and some of the issues that may arise, illustrated using Andrew Collier's and Ted Benton's differences over intrinsic worth.

Normally, during modernity, critical thinking and anti-systemic movements have countered the ruling institutions by envisaging not only new values and ideals, but mainly new ‘forms’ of social regulation. The current crisis reveals that, contrary to this tradition, the institutions in office and the antagonistic way of thinking now share the same basic ‘horizontal’ form. The degrowth project represents a paradigmatic example of this structural homology. The ecological and social crises, standing at the origins of the political engagement for (...) class='Hi'>degrowth, are not the outcome of execrable ‘values’ but mainly of the ‘horizontal’ form adopted by current institutions. In fact, the horizontal regime is uninterested in the promotion of specific values or ideas of justice. It only ensures that each singularity (the citizen and their networks) can freely play their game on the basis of their own values. This indifference is the basic reason for ecological, social and economic deregulation. The paradox of degrowth is that, on the one hand, it evokes the necessity of a return to ‘vertical’ regulation (i.e. collective sovereignty), while on the other, it is deeply subaltern to the paradigm of horizontalism (the same that frames the growth regime). (shrink)

Kluczowy kontekst artykułu stanowi najnowsza wiedza dotycząca powagi planetarnego kryzysu środowiskowego i jego reperkusji społeczno-gospodarczych (kompromitacja kapitalizmu paliw kopalnych i nierówności). Na tym tle teoretycznym zostaną ze sobą krytycznie porównane trzy ujęcia. Chodzi o filozofię Herberta Marcusego, krytykę tzw. „tanich natur” i kapitałocenu Jasona W. Moore’a oraz o ekonomię ekologiczną wystudzania wzrostu. Wszystkie z nich to postkapitalistyczne eko-utopie budowane w obliczu troski o samo przetrwanie cywilizacji. Tekst poszukuje antycypacji myśli Moore’a i idei ekonomistów ekologicznych w refleksji Marcusego na temat ekologii. (...) Wskazane zostaną ważne podobieństwa, jak i wybrane różnice między wymienionymi wyżej koncepcjami. Artykuł rozpatruje przy tym dwa poziomy: diagnozy dotyczącej problemów rozwiniętego społeczeństwa przemysłowego oraz możliwej, systemowej oraz konstruktywnej korekty. Tekst przekonuje, że istnienie konkretnych ujęć ekonomii ekologicznej dewzrostu, dobrobytu i redystrybucji przeczy tezie Marcusego o tym, że kapitalizm całkowicie kolonizuje ludzką wyobraźnię. (shrink)

Impelled by the intertwined expansion of capitalist institutions and fossil-fueled industry, human activity has made devastating impacts on ecosystems and earth systems. The colonial, class, racial, and gender systems that coevolved with these historical processes have long been critiqued for engineering exploitation and inequality. Yet the technologies with which these systems interact are widely portrayed as neutral and nonpartisan. This paper interrogates the purported independence of technology on two fronts. First, it uses a political ecology lens to illuminate some ways (...) in which the generation and application of technology have been historically entangled with colonial, racial, and gender systems. Second, it considers how those entanglements have been variously obscured, acknowledged, depoliticized, and/or politicized in two realms of thought and practice: ecomodernism and degrowth. Conclusions call for bringing creative innovation of ecomodernism together with degrowth commitment to just social–ecological transformation. (shrink)

The field of ecocritical game studies has grown significantly in recent years. Reading videogames through the demands of the climate crisis and the social debates around what ecology and nature mean helps us assess their role in culture and as culture. This paper combines the analysis of game content and of the ways of playing afforded by that content to delineate a draft of a map of games about and in defense of nature. The guiding questions are how they create (...) their discourses and what strategies they use for that, distinguishing between representation (or how nature appears) and ecocriticism (or what is said about the relationship between people and their environment), as well as what type of player behaviour they allow and favour. To study that, I employ three central intellectual concepts: ecocriticism, the theory of moral consideration in animal rights philosophy, and the economic theory of degrowth. (shrink)

Nos technologies numériques portent les marques de technologies non conviviales identifiées il y a plus de cinquante ans par Ivan Illich dans son ouvrage fondateur, La Convivialité (1973). Dans un contexte de crises écosystémiques et socio-économiques, la notion de convivialité apparaît non seulement comme une possibilité de critique de la technologie, mais aussi comme un élément clé de prise en compte du numérique dans une stratégie de décroissance. Après avoir montré comment l’analyse d’Illich aide à comprendre les effets négatifs des (...) technologies numériques, nous argumentons en faveur du développement d’une conception conviviale, avec une approche normative et sensible aux valeurs de conception des artefacts et des systèmes numériques. À titre d’exemples, nous mettons en avant deux domaines de recherche en informatique en grand besoin de convivialité: les infrastructures numériques et la gestion des processus métiers. (shrink)

The quest for ecological sustainability—specifically via prioritizing degrowth—creates significant, often overlooked challenges for the chronically ill. I focus on type-1 diabetes, treatment for which depends on nonrenewables and materials implicated in the global proliferation of toxins that harm biospheric functions. Some commentators suggest obliquely that seeking to develop ecologically sustainable treatments for type-1 shouldn’t be prioritized. Other medical concerns take precedence in a post-carbon world marked by climate change and widespread ecological devastation. I challenge this view on three grounds. (...) Its proponents (i) fail to treat type-1 as the public health issue it is, particularly within the context of what Sunaura Taylor calls disabled ecologies. They (ii) deny persons with type-1 an equal opportunity to pursue survival. And they (iii) presume without warrant that treating type-1 is an all-or-nothing affair. Indeed, research by biohackers points to suboptimal but potentially workable ways to make type-1 survivable in a post-carbon future—so long, I stress, as their findings are cripped in a manner that foregrounds the demands of environmental justice. (shrink)

Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is a grassroots response to the threat the global industrial agri-food system poses to smallholders. The degrowth community, calling for a radical transformation away from the environmentally destructive and socially unjust primacy of economic growth in current societies, has started to pay tribute to CSA, commonly considering it an embodiment of degrowth ideas. However, the CSA movement does not reciprocate the interest of the degrowth community. This article therefore undertakes a systematic analysis of the (...) potential for a coalition between CSA and degrowth in Germany. We draw on social movement theories to compare both movements’ ideological and strategic alignment, as well as the conducive and/or hindering factors for coalition building. We find that the ideologies and political strategies of the two movements are not aligned, which manifests in their main frames and action repertoires, among other areas, which are articulated at different levels of abstraction; CSA has a practical focus on the safeguarding of smallholder agriculture, while degrowth more abstractly centres on the growth-dependent economy. Scarce resources, differing forms of internal organisation, and a lack of knowledge about degrowth on the side of CSA represent further obstacles to entering a coalition. At the same time, our analysis shows existing social ties and an initial ideological alignment between the CSA movement and sufficiency-oriented degrowth. We conclude that, despite prevailing differences, the two movements seem complementary, and that entering a coalition would bring with it the benefits of combining practice- and discourse-driven social change. (shrink)

This paper aims to provide a comprehensive explanation for the likely failure in the decoupling of economic growth from environmental degradation, and also intends to offer perspectives on the new role of competition in a steady state or a degrowth economy. The analysis is based on five different scenarios, and uses the European Union as an example. It is concluded that we must prepare ourselves for a potential incompatibility between sustainability and economic growth. In this respect one can say (...) that the current EU situation is in some ways already quite close to an economic system without growth, although far from sustainable as yet. Two of the four perspectives developed, regarding the new role of competition in an economy without growth, indicate an increase of direct and indirect competition over resources. The other two perspectives point out that regulatory public intervention as well as financial intervention will increase in order to ensure that - despite the revised role of competition - the poorest are still given a chance to develop (e.g. through basic minimum incomes), even in a degrowth economy. (shrink)

The climate crisis has created an urgency to teach about climate change and work with young people to respond to the impacts of climate destruction. This urgency, however, risks overlooking or superficially considering the colonial-capitalist logics that drive the impending ecocide. This paper is premised on the perhaps counter-intuitive idea that we must turn our attention away from climate change to provide an appropriate educational response to it. In this conceptual paper, we first examine three manifestations of colonial-capitalist logics that (...) drive educational aims and environmental destruction: growthism, exhaustion and alienation. This demonstrates how even well-meaning environmental sustainability education may inadvertently contribute to the ‘planetary crisis’ it is attempting to address. Second, we offer two ethico-political speculative experiments in alternative logics: degrowth and the commons. We argue that these offer openings towards reshaping the aims of education, for relations that will sustain, revive and replenish the Earth and our societies. (shrink)

The paper analyse the role of moderation in the debate on degrowth and postgrowth. Referring to the works of Serge Latouche and Tim Jackson, it is presented in what context moderation appears in reflections on climate change, the environmental crisis, and the issue of farewell to growth. In the course of the considerations, it was clarified that moderation in postgrowth means moving away from the paradigm of economic growth, limiting production and consumption, reducing environmental costs, turning towards voluntary simplicity (...) and a symbiotic balance in the relationship between humans and nature. (shrink)

The aim of the study was to explore the possible future of culture management under conditions of degrowth, which was treated in the research as an appropriate response to what natural scientists regard as the real risk of an imminent collapse of planetary systems due to humanity’s historically extractive and exploitative global economic activities. The article fills a research gap on the potential role of culture management in a degrowth-based transformation. The experimental research methodology was based on speculative (...) fabulation, SWOT and PESTEL analytical frameworks. The main conclusion of the study is that degrowth conditions may provide a space for culture management to flourish, while the cultural sector has significant potential to provide infrastructural and value-based support for the degrowth transformation. (shrink)

In his Ecolinguistics, Stibbe (2020) declares the story of economic growth (the continuous increase in production and consumption) as the ‘master narrative’ that is at the same time the most harmful story we live by. This paper explains where this story of growth comes from and describes how it supplants or suppresses alternatives, such as stories of thrift and sharing. By connecting the biosemiotic model of Funktionskreis (e.g. Uexküll, 1920) as “the primary mechanism of meaning making” (Kull 2020) to cognitive (...) linguistics (e.g. Lakoff, 2009) and critical discourse analysis (e.g. van Leeuwen, 2018), this paper explores how stories of thrift and sharing can be turned into activism that seeks to reframe waste as surplus that can be shared; but they can also hide the old business models of the master narrative. Stories of sharing are often erased to protect corporate interests. Narratives of sharing can be duplicitous, especially in the context of the ‘sharing economy’. Attempts at reframing resources and energy as common wealth owned by everyone are squelched by the master narrative in contexts like resource and energy distribution. Can the new story of shrinking and degrowth become a new alternative to the master narrative and promote new decelerated semiotic habits (Maran, 2023) for a more fulfilling life with less (e.g. Herrmann 2022)? (shrink)

The prisoner’s dilemma is a fictional story that shows why individuals who seek only their personal benefit meet worse outcomes than those possible by cooperating with others. The dilemma provides an effective, albeit often overlooked, method for studying the Hindu principle of “desireless action” (niṣkāmakarma). In the context of the prisoner’s dilemma, a prisoner who wants to uphold the principle of “desireless action” may choose one of two decision-making strategies: to be indifferent and leave the decision to chance or to (...) either pursue the common good or the other person’s benefit instead of his or her own. Assuming that followers of niṣkāmakarma can be goal-oriented, the second strategy is more appropriate than the first, as long as one pursues unselfish goals and remains both indifferent and uncommitted to personal benefit. This interpretation is tested and further discussed in this article in light of the values of the modern environmental and anti-consumerist degrowth movement. (shrink)

Wenn man nicht länger wachsen kann, muss man stagnieren oder gar schrumpfen. Für unsere auf Dauerwachstum programmierte und einseitig auf das BIP fokussierte Wirtschaft ein Horrorszenario. Ist ein grünes Wachstum der Ausweg oder müssen wir uns sogar vom Kapitalismus verabschieden? Bei diesen Fragen geht es ans Eingemachte.