In recent decades, the growth dependency of capitalist economies has increasingly become object of critique. More and more voices are calling for a radical break with this growth logic, not least for reasons of ecological and social sustainability. Degrowth as a prominent critique of growth, however, goes beyond a purely economic transformational concept, as it offers a vision of a different society. A society that abandons growth would have to be based on completely different economic, social, cultural and political conditions.
This theme week on Degrowth focuses on “paths into transition”. It specifically addresses opportunities and approaches for a planned, democratic, and peaceful transition to an economy without growth dependency. We aim to discuss central questions such as which actors can promote such a transition; what challenges they confront; and how to avoid provoking new crises and cleavages.
We will problematize the concept of Degrowth with regard to three dimensions that require a postcolonial perspective. First, a common critique claims that although degrowth or post-growth may be conceivable in the rich countries of the Global North, they ignore the material and social realities of the Global South. In this sense, degrowth concepts have to engage with the allegation of Eurocentrism. A second focus is on work, because a reorganization of work and the societal division of labour seems to be crucial for any transition towards degrowth. Here, feminist perspectives in particular help to overcome the old yet still influential juxtaposition between productive employment and unproductive care work. Thirdly, degrowth is not least about a different understanding of nature. The Western subject-object dualism has been criticized many times, and we want to ask to what extent experiences from North and South can contribute to a different understanding of nature.
In the digital theme week, renowned experts will discuss these questions with us, in which theoretical as well as practical-activist questions go hand in hand.
Program:
20.01.2022: 10:00 - 12:00 a.m. (CET): Vandana Shiva
(Title to follow soon)
Comment: Andrea Vetter
Discussion
21.01.2022: 10:00 - 12:00 a.m. (CET): Jason Hickel
"Imperialism and the Degrowth Imperative"
Comment: Federico Demaria
Discussion
27.01.2022: 10:00 - 12:00 a.m. (CET): Ashish Kothari and Shrishtee Bajpai
"Eco-swaraj: Radical Ecological Democracy towards Justice and Sustainability"
Comment: Christine Löw
Discussion
28.01.2022: 10:00 - 12:00 a.m. (CET): Ariel Salleh
"Subliminal Economies"
Comment: Ana Carballo
Discussion
Registration:
Please register by sending an e-mail to: zukuenfte.der.nachhaltigkeit@uni-hamburg.de
Registered participants will receive the Zoom access details shortly before the Conference. Until then, we kindly ask for your patience.
Organization: Prof. Dr. Frank Adloff / Dr. Philipp Degens / Dr. Sarah Lenz
My colleagues and I wrote an initial blog post arguing that the question of strategy has received too little attention in the degrowth movement, and by degrowth scholars. Further, we observed that the discourse on strategy in degrowth was excessively plural, being open to all strategies in all contexts, rather than considering case-appropriateness (spatially, temporally, sectorally etc.). Th...
By Nafeez Ahmed Worried about the shit hitting the fan on climate change and other major crises? Good. Because those crises prove that civilization is in the midst of a phase shift to new forms – and we’ve got the opportunity, right now, to ride the wave of five interlinked revolutions in information, food, energy, finance and ethics, to co-create a new way of being that works for everyone. I...
Without trying to give definitions of growth or degrowth everybody knows anyway, I would like to emphasize that these phenomena were always subject to discussions. Even a non-economist knows that it is impossible to talk about growth without mentioning ideas like increases in production factors, industrialization or economic development. Any increase has to come to a [...]
