Degrowth

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Discussions about degrowth and all sorts of related topics. This includes UBI, economic democracy, the economics of green technologies, enviromental legislation and many more intressting economic topics.

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MrMakabar@slrpnk.net

Genuine question - is degrowth compatible with human nature? (slrpnk.net)

submitted 1 week ago by RideAgainstTheLizard@slrpnk.net to c/degrowth@slrpnk.net

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Degrowth is a noble ideal to strive for, and it would certainly mitigate a lot of our current problems if implemented. However, I fear that it is an ideal that can be adopted by the few but not the many. Growth, progress and personal ambition are inherent human traits - it may not be the case for all people, but it is certainly evident in today's society and many societies that have come before. In my opinion, we need solutions and frameworks that most (if not all) personalities can exist within. I worry degrowth is wishful thinking, and would love to hear your thoughts.

All of that said - I believe it is a very worthwhile thought exercise and even if all degrowth principles cannot be implemented, some can and that is what matters.

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[–] solo@slrpnk.net 2 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (3 children)

Degrowth is absolutely not compatible to capitalism because as an economic system it has growth embedded in its model. One of the biggest problems is that this economic system has taken over the decision making processes of human societies all over the globe (ie representative democracy). Like models of the past they portrait themselves as invincible, like kings thought of their situation, slave owners etc. I believe we should first be able to imagine a world without capitalism in order to achieve this goal. Btw I don't have the answers, we do.

So the way I see things degrowth is fully compatible with humans and human societies (sorry I can't use the term "human nature" but I suppose that's another topic), personal growth and societal prosperity because it is anti-capitalistic.

So I also thought of sharing a 15-min video from a few years back:

New Economies: How Degrowth Will Save the World with Jason Hickel

[–] RideAgainstTheLizard@slrpnk.net 2 points 5 days ago

Thanks for the insight and the video :)

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