DEGROWTH
Less Is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World by Jason Hickel
Our planet is in trouble. But how can we reverse the current crisis and create a sustainable future? The answer is: degrowth. By shining a light on ecological breakdown and the system that’s causing it, Hickel shows how we can bring our economy back into balance with the living world and build a thriving society for all.
Doughnut Economics by Kate Raworth
In Doughnut Economics, Oxford academic Kate Raworth identifies the seven critical ways in which mainstream economics has led us astray – from selling us the myth of ‘rational economic man’ to obsessing over growth at all costs – and offers instead an alternative roadmap for bringing humanity into a sweet spot that meets the needs of all within the means of the planet.
Degrowth by Giorgos Kallis
The term “degrowth” has emerged within ecological and other schools of economics as a critique of the idea (and ideology) of economic growth. Degrowth argues that economic growth is no longer desirable – its costs exceed its benefits – and advocates a transformation of economies so that they produce and consume less, differently and better. In this book the central claims of the degrowth literature are discussed alongside some key criticisms of them.
Degrowth: A Critical Guide by Vincent Liegey & Anitra Nelson
As politicians and corporations obsess over “growth” objectives, the degrowth movement demands that we slow down our economies, our politics and our cultures to live within the Earth’s limits. This book navigates the practice and strategies of the movement, looking at its strengths and weaknesses. Covering horizontal democracy, local economies and the reduction of work, it shows us why degrowth is a feasible project.
The World After GDP by Lorenzo Fioramonti
GDP has become the benchmark of success and a powerful ordering principle at the heart of the global economy. But the convergence of major economic, social and environmental crises has exposed the flaws of our economic system which values GDP above all else as a measure of prosperity and growth.
In this book, political economist Lorenzo Fioramonti sets out his vision of a world after GDP. From a new role for small business, households and civil society to a radical evolution of democracy and international relations, Fioramonti sets out a combination of top-down reforms and bottom-up pressures whose impact, he argues, would be unprecedented, and would make possible a more equitable, sustainable and happy society.
In Defense of Degrowth: Opinions and Minifestos by Giorgos Kallis (edited by Aaron Vansintjan)
Giorgios Kallis is one of the leading thinkers of the degrowth movement. This book is a compilation of his essays, articles, blog posts and ‘minifestos’ The book also features debates and exchanges between Kallis and degrowth detractors.
Entropia by Samuel Alexander
When industrial civilisation collapsed in the third decade of the 21st century, a community living on a small island in the South Pacific Ocean found itself permanently isolated from the rest of the world. With no option but to build a self-sufficient economy with very limited energy supplies, this community set about creating a simpler way of life that could flourish into the deep future.
Determined above all else to transcend the materialistic values of the Old World, they made a commitment to live materially simple lives, convinced that this was the surest path to genuine freedom, peace, and sustainable prosperity. Seven decades later, in the year 2099, this book describes the results of their remarkable living experiment.
Liberation from Excess: The Road to a Post-Growth Economy by Niko Paech
In his counter model of a post-growth economy, sustainability researcher Niko Paech calls for restrictions upon industrial value added processes and for patterns of self-sufficiency to be strengthened. He argues that his form of economic activity would not only be more frugal but also more stable and environmentally friendly.
Post-Growth Living For an Alternative Hedonism by Kate Soper
Climate change is inextricably linked with the consumerist, capitalist society in which we live. How do we stop the impending catastrophe and how can we create a movement capable of confronting it head-on? Post-Growth Living. For an Alternative Hedonism is plea for a new and ecologically sustainable vision of the good life.
The Future Is Degrowth: A Guide to a World Beyond Capitalism by Matthew Schmelzer, Andrea Vetter & Aaron Vansintjan
Offering a counter-history of how economic growth emerged in the context of colonialism, fossil-fuelled industrialisation, and capitalist modernity, The Future Is Degrowth argues that the ideology of growth conceals the rising inequalities and ecological destructions associated with capitalism, and points to desirable alternatives to it. This book provides a vision for post-capitalism beyond growth. It charts a path forward through policies that democratise the economy, “now-topias” that create free spaces for experimentation, and counter-hegemonic movements that make it possible to break with the logic of growth.
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