Degrowth

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.

• New research concludes that humanity would benefit more if it aims for ecological sustainability and stays within the limits of what Earth can provide, rather than pursuing relentless growth.
• The success of capitalism depends on the push for growth, which requires the use of resources and energy, and comes at the cost of ecological damage.
• Economists have proposed alternatives that focus on staying within a set of planetary boundaries that define the safe operating space for humanity.
• The review, published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, draws on more than 200 resources from the scientific literature.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/18056158

Archived

Recovering South Korean shopaholic-turned-climate activist Lee So-yeon used to buy new clothes almost daily – until a $1.50 winter coat triggered an awakening that stopped her shopping entirely.

While looking at the ultra-cheap padded jacket at an H&M shop in the United States, where she was working at the time, Lee asked herself how any item of clothing could be sold so cheaply.

The 30-year-old embarked on a deep dive into fast fashion production methods and was horrified at the human, social and environmental toll hyperconsumerism is having on the planet – and on the mental health of women who make and buy cheap clothes.

[...]

The reason the clothes are so cheap, Lee learned, is because the women who sew for companies are paid little, while the business model itself is causing significant environmental harm.

[...]

Lee now organises clothing swaps with her friends and family, and has written a book to promote the idea of valuing garments for “the story behind it”, rather than chasing ephemeral trends.

She is part of a small but growing global movement seeking to promote second-hand clothing and help people – especially women – opt out of the cycle of over-consumption.

The app Lucky Sweater provides a platform for users to trade items from their closets with each other, focussing on sustainable brands, founder Tanya Dastyar [said].

[...]

McNeil and Barnes (2025) conducted a survey of 2051 respondents in the UK. The goal was to find out the respondents attitudes on the existence of a tradeoff between the environment and economic growth and their priorities in such a tradeoff.

They found out most people would prioritize the environment over growth.

In their cluster analysis on the responses, they identified the largest group to be "moderate environmentalists" (37 %), followed by a moderate economistic group (20 %) and a strong environmental preference group (19 %). 9% had extreme pro-economic-growth views.

They also tested whether highlighting the existence of a trade-off affected the respondents. They conclude that "greater public attention to the possibility of an environment-economic growth trade-off has only limited effects on support for environmental protection" and "It does not appear that increasing belief in the trade-off is consequential for people's policy positions."

McNeil, A., & Barnes, L. (2025). The environment–economic growth trade-off: Does support for environmental protection depend on its economic consequences? Ecological Economics, 230, 108522. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolecon.2025.108522

When the global population does decline sometime this century, it will be the first time since the Black Death, 700 years ago. But this time, it will be driven by human choice -- specifically, the choice of women globally to not have so many children.

(this is more about late stage capitalism, but it makes it more personal, more casual, less macro; this is a good example of how to talk about these things in a casual way... perhaps at the next family holiday dinner)

This is more about growth and its folly in real time.

LONDON—One lesson from an unprecedented year of elections around the world is that voters in industrialized countries are particularly unhappy, ready to boot unpopular leaders out of office and making it more difficult for politicians in power to enact bold programs of change.

Rarely have the rich world’s political leaders been so widely disliked. No leader of an industrialized country other than tiny Switzerland has a positive rating, according to a survey of some 25 democracies by pollster Morning Consult. Ruling parties that went to the polls this year largely got a drubbing, including in the U.S. and U.K.

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