Degrowth in a Nutshell

Degrowth implies a society and economy which focuses on the well-being of all and sustains the natural basis of life. To achieve degrowth, we need “system change”; a fundamental transformation of our society.

Currently our economy, which is based on continuous growth, is destroying the natural basis of life, and cannot continue. It creates a social paradigm of “faster, higher, further“. Consequently, it leads to stress, anger and exclusion. And ultimately it will lead to multiple crises of which the climate and ecological emergencies are just a part.

By contrast a degrowth society focuses on care, sufficiency, simplicity, solidarity and cooperation.

The essential facets of degrowth are:

• Striving for the good life for all. This includes deceleration, time welfare and conviviality.
• A reduction in extractivism, production and consumption in the global North and a self-determined path of social organization in the global South.
• A redefinition of work which will be meaningful and useful. Less work, less income, less pointless consumption.
• An extension of democratic decision-making to allow for real political participation.
• Social changes and an orientation towards sufficiency instead of purely technological changes and improvements in efficiency in order to solve ecological problems.
• The creation of small scale, connected and localized economies.