The idea of degrowth has gained in popularity among climate campaigners as the crisis has intensified. The effects of CO2 in the atmosphere are stark reminders that the earth’s resources are limited, and our current system of economic expansion must be reversed.
An inaugural international degrowth conference was held in Paris in 2008. Since then ten more conferences have been held, and in 2023 an International Degrowth Network was launched.
The degrowth movement includes a wide range of ideas and perspectives on the reasons for the world’s current unsustainable growth trajectory and how degrowth should be tackled.
Common proposals
The most common proposals from degrowth authors and theoreticians are:
- universal basic incomes;
- work-time reductions;
- job guarantees with a living wage;
- maximum income caps;
- declining caps on resource use and emissions;
- not-for-profit cooperatives;
- holding deliberative forums;
- reclaiming the commons;
- establishing eco-villages;
- housing cooperatives.
A frequent critique of degrowth is that it contains scant detail about how a reduction in economic output should be achieved. The proposals listed above hardly form the basis for a coherent movement, and degrowth activities are focused primarily on conferences, publications and communication of information. There is very little campaigning evident in the movement’s work.
At its most conservative, degrowth can be described as a form of “green capitalism”, advocating reforms in how capitalist economies are run. The list of common proposals do not include any significant challenges to capitalism, except perhaps “reclaiming the commons”.
Degrowth ecosocialists
On the left of the degrowth spectrum are some ecosocialists who have incorporated degrowth ideas into a socialist framework.
One of the best known of these is Jason Hickel. In an article for Monthly Review he recognizes that the raising of living standards in the “Global South” will require the production of more goods and services. For Hickel, and most other degrowthers, the main target of degrowth should be the ecologically destructive and socially unnecessary forms of production which occur mainly in the industrialized west. But he also emphasizes that global growth will have to fall.
Criticisms
Many socialist and marxist writers have been severely critical of degrowth. The marxist economist, Matt Huber, is particularly scathing. He says that “solving climate change requires massive development of the productive forces”, while discounting any concerns about planetary boundaries1. For Huber, degrowth is a form of austerity, and he believes that the idea of degrowth immediately constrains any rational socialist planning by setting artificial targets for economic reductions.
Other socialists denounce degrowth supporters for their failure to acknowledge that capitalism must be replaced with socialism. Indeed, despite their critique of capitalism, exponents of degrowth invariably lack any rational alternative. Degrowth remains largely an abstract set of ideas, articulated in general terms, or a set of incremental changes to the existing order.
What is consistently missing from degrowth theories is how policies will be implemented: how capitalism’s need for profits will be overcome, how will decisions be made, and who will be the decision-makers.
Planning
John Bellamy Foster is a well known and widely respected ecosocialist. He has incorporated the idea of degrowth into an ecosocialist perspective in an excellent article “Planned Degrowth: Ecosocialism and Sustainable Human Development”.
He acknowledges the degrowth principle that an end to uncontrolled economic growth is essential. But he also recognises that some sections of the economy must continue to grow, in areas such as “regenerative agriculture, food production, decent housing, clean energy, accessible health care, universal education, community welfare, public transportation, digital connectivity, and other areas related to green production and social needs”. Of course, proportionately much more growth will be required in poor countries to raise living standards there to decent levels.
Foster’s central point is the need for socialist planning to direct the economy. Capitalism, except in extreme situations such as national mobilization for wars, is incapable of allocating resources rationally. A huge reallocation of resources away from wasteful and unnecessary areas will require the state to appropriate and control economic surpluses and direct investments to socially necessary sectors of the economy.
“A concept – not a slogan”
The Irish ecosocialists, Paul Murphy and Jess Spear, have written a robust defence of ecosocialist degrowth. In their article, they acknowledge that “degrowth” will never itself be an idea that will mobilize millions of people. They quote the late James Molyneux, another Irish ecosocialist: “But in terms of mobilising such people, whether they are located in Los Angeles or Liverpool, Sao Paulo or Soweto, the concept or slogan of degrowth will be a non-starter.“
For Murphy and Spear, degrowth is a valuable analytical tool that can be used to develop a theoretical framework and formulate popular ecosocialist demands and slogans that will catch the imagination of ordinary people.
Translating complex political and ecological into popular programs and demands is the essential task facing ecosocialism today.
There are nine generally accepted “planetary boundaries”:
Climate change and CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere
Ocean acidification
Ozone depletion
Nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations in the environment
Global freshwater use
Land system change
Loss of biological diversity
Chemical pollution
Aerosol concentrations in the atmosphere ↩︎
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