The post-growth movement says GDP is the wrong way to measure progress and we need a radical economic rewiring
Supporters of degrowth call for an organised downsizing in production of things such as mansions, SUVs, industrially produced beef, cruise ships, fast fashion and weapons.Supporters of degrowth call for an organised downsizing in production of things such as mansions, SUVs, industrially produced beef, cruise ships, fast fashion and weapons.n the run-up to the UK general election, the Labour party’s central offer to the public was a “laser-like” focus on economic growth.
Hickel says that what matters in terms of social progress is not aggregate production but the production of specific goods and services that are necessary for improving people’s lives and achieving ecological goals – and a reduction in overall growth in high-emitting sectors and countries. He says that although renewables are cheaper than fossil fuels, there is still less private investment flowing into renewables than is needed because they are not as profitable for big investors as fossil fuel projects.
Lemos, who is at the Autonomous University of Barcelona, says initially the movement was “very much focused on – and quite insular about” the consequences of growth for Europe and the global north, but that the seeds of a more global outlook were present even then. But there are other big questions facing the idea of a post-growth economics. Many argue that rewiring the global capitalist system and taking on the vested interests and elites that benefit from it is hardly going to be quick., says the escalating climate crisis means there is not time to plan a utopian vision of a perfect world that can be achieved in 30 years’ time.
Hickel rejects the argument that planned, targeted degrowth is unrealistic: “What is unrealistic is to assume that our existing economy, which is failing in both social and ecological terms, is going to magically solve the crises we face.”
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