degrowth, domination, democracy, Marxism, feminism

Abstract: The growth critical debate could be more fertile if economic growth were perceived more carefully in its connection with the ruling capitalist and patriarchal mode of production and living. Then we can understand economic growth as a social relation which is intrinsically linked to societal domination and, hence, reproduces social structures. Moreover, societal domination is the basis of unsustainable societal nature relations. After a quick overview over the debate, my argument is developed with reference to feminist and (neo-)Marxist debates as well as to insights from political ecology. Democracy, I conclude, is in contributions to the growth critical debate absent or just mentioned.