That is why we need to transform the growth-addicted design of government, business and finance at the heart of our economies. Grief, sacrifice, care, honour: life is not all about feeling ‘better’. Degrowth is the literal translation of 'decroissance', a French word meaning reduction. Don’t get me wrong: I think the degrowth movement is addressing the most profound economic questions of our day. Microsoft spellcheck keeps correcting degrowth into ‘regrowth’. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Far wiser is to recast the issue in your own positive terms instead, say, by advocating for ‘tax justice’. Third, degrowth repeats and possibly strengthens the growth frame and may activate undesirable frames associated with economic recessions. This is not an effective advocacy strategy for change. Let’s resist the demand to be positive! This persistence to defend degrowth is productive: it forces to research questions that no one else asks. We identify a tradeoff between public attention and public support. There is a ‘lighthouse’ for this: the Commons. Right conversations with the right people. 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. Just to be clear, I know that the degrowth movement stands for many positive and empowering things. I’ve never had a boring or confusing conversation about degrowth (witness the present one). Defining degrowth. Degrowth is defined by those authors as a vision, an heterogeneous umbrella composed by a myriad of small yet tangible ideas that span across every socio-ecological field. But whenever the word ‘degrowth’ pops up, I find the rest of the conversation is spent clearing up misunderstandings about what it does or doesn’t mean. SergeLatouche says that ‘degrowth is seen as negative, something unpardonable in a society where at all costs one must ‘‘think positively’’’. To challenge the economic growth paradigm, the concept and term “degrowth” has recently been embraced by various activists and scholars. I have heard all of these arguments made under the banner of degrowth, but they are very different, with very different strategic consequences. Mission un-accomplished. 1. 7. My friend Kate Raworth ‘cannot bring herself to use the word’ degrowth. First, degrowth challenges the idea that economic growth is the only way to achieve prosperity and wellbeing for all. With its shock element ‘de’-growth reminds that we won’t have our cake and eat it all. Economists turn ash-faced when they hear ‘degrowth’. Degrowth became an … An advantage of using a term which does not roll off the tongue easily in English is that it creates disruption. No one would build a highway, a nuclear reactor, issue more credit or sell colas in the name of degrowth. Take debates about taxes, for example. Drawing on a body of evidence from cognitive science, psychology, and related fields, we argue that using the word degrowth might be disadvantageous in public communications about alternatives to growth. Kate asks us to imagine that the ‘missile’ ‘has landed and it has worked’. Could degrowth be coopted by austerians? Degrowth first deconstructs the myth that growth is the central solution for the impasse our capitalist, productivist One point shared across all degrowth supporters is the possible alternative of becoming happier by living with less (therefore by totally ignoring material economic growth). Degrowth is anathema to the right and left. Considering that economic growth is neither possible nor desirable, it denounces the concept of sustainable development, deemed to be an oxymoron. I spend effort arguing with eco-modernists, green growthers, growth economists, or Marxist developmentalists about the (un)sustainability of growth. Marx wouldn’t be concerned with sitting at the table with capitalists to convince them about communism. power programme; and a credit card in Venezuela. if only monetised, why would … Degrowth, not: in all likelihood GDP will decrease too. In 2020, “Defund the police” became a popular rallying cry among progressive forces in American politics – and an invitation for conservatives to criticizes their naivety and delusion: Exploiting the broad meaning of the word “defund”, they cast their political opponents as anarchist who undermine public safety by cheering for ill-equipped police forces – when in reality they want to re-allocate some police funding to … Why Degrowth Is the Worst Idea on the Planet Despite still growing over the last 50 years, we already figured out how to reduce our impact on Earth. Why pretend we agree? 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