What does degrowth mean? A few points of clarification (original) (raw)
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Under the banner of " Degrowth " , recent years have seen the emergence of a new strand of emancipatory critique of economic growth and the search for social-ecological alternatives beyond capitalism and industrialism. Some even speak of a newly emerging social movement for Degrowth. While much has recently been written on Degrowth ideas, we know very little about the social base of this spectrum. The article presents results from an empirical survey among 814 of the 3000 participants of the 2014 international Degrowth conference in Leipzig, Germany – the largest Degrowth-related event so far. After introducing the reader to the history and some of the core ideas of Degrowth debates, it draws on the empirical results to argue that Degrowth can indeed be seen as an emerging social movement in Europe. It is shown that the Degrowth spectrum is united by a basic consensus for a 'reductive' turnaround in the societies of the Global North, as well as by consensual support for universalist, feminist, grassroots-democratic, and anti-capitalist ideas. Results of a factor analysis indicate a series of internal tensions and points of contention, the interplay of which is illustrated with reference to a cluster analysis. We conclude that, despite inevitable tensions and fissures within, Degrowth does provide the degree of consistency and shared identity needed to become a rallying point for a broader social movement addressing some of the most important challenges faced by European societies today.
Democratic Planning for Degrowth
Monthly Review, 2023
We live in truly historic times. According to the recent UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Synthesis Report, there is a "rapidly closing window of opportunity" to secure a livable and sustainable future for all. To prevent a catastrophic "hothouse Earth" scenario of extreme warming and sea-level rise, "rapid and far-reaching transitions across all sectors and systems are necessary." There is mounting evidence that, for rich countries, to achieve the necessary much faster mitigation pathways requires abandoning aggregate economic growth. Despite all efforts at decarbonization in high-income countries, which are often trumpeted as showing that GDP can be decoupled from emissions, the scale and speed of emission reductions is nowhere near what would be necessary. Indeed, scientific evidence from recent years shows that if the countries of the Global North continue to pursue "green growth," it is extremely unlikely that greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced at the rate and scale needed to avoid climate collapse. Let us take Europe as an example: While the shift to lower-carbon energy between 1990 and 2020 has enabled a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 34 percent (not accounting for trade), these reductions of less than 1 percent per year on average are far from what is needed to curb climate breakdown, which are estimated to be around 11 percent reductions per year for Germany, or 6 percent for the European Union, according to the German Advisory Council on the Environment. Other analysis points to the need for even steeper emission reductions. 1 In fact, an increasingly robust body of scientific literature shows that green growth cannot be sustainable-but also, that a different form of organizing society is possible. 2 To achieve sustainability, so-called developed countries need to abandon the objective of GDP growth and scale down less necessary and destructive forms of production to reduce energy and material use. We need a planned and selective contraction of economic activity aimed at increasing well-being and equality. 3 Or, as recently argued in this journal, we need "ecosocialist degrowth." 4 Degrowth is founded on and justified by a solid critique of market instruments,