Growth is an ideological terrain, ultimately, and it's important to be able to challenge that core ideological claim. And that's effectively what degrowth does. The key thing for most people to understand is to have a clear idea of what capitalism actually is, right? Because obviously the first word that comes into mind when discussing these disastrous policies of constant growth and expansion is capitalism. So what is it in our social organization that engenders systems like capitalism to become dominant? And what can we do about it to minimize that as we look to degrow and decarbonize the economy?
Imagine if we could support 10 billion people on our planet using just 60% of our current energy demands. Sound too good to be true? Not according to degrowth scholars.
Economic anthropologist and author, Jason Hickel, is one of the leading degrowth researchers leading the charge for ecosocialism. He says if we limit the energy demands of the elite and hungry multinational corporations—reimagining economics to support and nurture human dignity—we could stay within our planetary boundaries and lift the entire world out of poverty.
Degrowth proves putting people over profit would be good for the planet. Some of the most exciting policies include shortening the work week, providing universal basic services, and redistributing income. As we discuss, it’s a form of environmentalism that could join forces with the labour movement to dictate massive, sweeping global changes that could provide a better quality of life for every living being on earth.
This episode is all about hope and vision, and I’m thrilled to present it to you all today. Listen to the full interview here, catch it on on Apple or Spotify, or watch on Youtube. You’ll find the bonus episode on Youtube over the weekend, and paid subscribers have access to the interview transcript.
© Rachel Donald
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