Overview

Economic growth isn’t working. And it cannot be made to work. Offering a counter-history of how economic growth emerged in the context of colonialism, fossil-fueled industrialization, and capitalist modernity, The Future is Degrowth argues that the ideology of growth conceals the rising inequalities and ecological destructions associated with capitalism. Growing evidence shows that continued economic growth is incompatible with sustaining life and is not necessary for a good life for all. Despite this, not only in society at large, but also on the left, we are held captive by the hegemony of growth. Leftists have based their utopian hopes on the development of productive forces, on redistributing the fruits of economic growth and technological progress. This book argues that any left politics and vision for postcapitalism that doesn't question growth perpetuates global inequalities, climate injustice, and the destruction of life on Earth. Degrowth perspectives, offer a way to step off the treadmill of an alienating, expansionist, and hierarchical system. A textbook and a manifesto, The Future is Degrowth is a must-read for all interested in charting a way beyond the current crises. Agree or disagree with the degrowth proposal, read this book to get a better idea of what it is. You just might change your mind.

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A most comprehensive analysis of the different trends converging in the degrowth movement, showing its capacity to both subvert the logic of capitalism and project visions of social justice. A book that powerfully challenges any reductive views of degrowth. -Silvia Federici

Praise for Degrowth in Movement(s): How to get beyond the Green Economy? This rich account of the global degrowth alliance, in all its socio-ecological dimensions - horizontal and prefigurative, shows us how. Give this book to your neighbours and friends, and let degrowth grow! -- Ariel Salleh, author of From Eco-Sufficiency to Global Justice Praise for Degrowth in Movement(s): This is a powerfully important topic to engage. Physics and chemistry are indicating that we're going to have to inhabit this planet differently - here are some ideas on how we might do that. -- Bill McKibben, author and activist with 350.org Praise for Degrowth in Movement(s): As many struggle to imagine worlds shaped by desires other than economic growth, this collection shows that multiform pathways are possible, and already in practice. The pluriversal approach supports readers to learn with wildly diverse initiatives and ideas. -- Susan Paulson, editor of Degrowth: Culture, Power and Change Praise for Degrowth in Movement(s): Moving beyond the growth economy needs a movement of movements. This is an excellent anthology, establishing a much needed dialogue between the different groups struggling for a good life for all within planetary limits. -- Giorgos Kallis, author of Degrowth and co-editor of Degrowth: A Vocabulary for a New Era Praise for Degrowth in Movement(s): Everyone knows the years ahead will be challenging, but they can also be filled with the praxis of hope. In writing a rich guide for how to change the world these chapters have, for some of their authors, been a process of metamorphosis. The same can be true for you. Think of this is a book as a flint. Find some friends, read it, and use it to spark your own transformations. -- Raj Patel, co-author of A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things Praise for The Hegemony of Growth: In this well-researched intellectual and institutional history, Schmelzer brings to light the story of how Europe and America in the mid-twentieth century embraced the cult of Gross National Product (GNP), and the role of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in the process. By devising the system by which governments keep economic score, economists and bureaucrats revised the goals of economic policy to emphasize, almost to the point of worship, GNP growth. Schmelzer's book explains lucidly how economic policy acquired its topmost priority of the past seventy years. -- J. R. McNeill - author of Something New Under the Sun: An Environmental History of the Twentieth-Century World Praise for The Hegemony of Growth: A magnificent accomplishment. Moving between deft analyses of the OECD and sweeping appraisals of global political economy, Matthias Schmelzer reveals the tumultuous history behind the seemingly timeless commitment to economic growth. Essential reading for scholars, The Hegemony of Growth is just as valuable for perplexed observers of the contemporary world. In the best tradition of historical research, Schmelzer rewrites the past, troubles the present, and opens up new ways of imagining the future. -- Timothy Shenk - author of Maurice Dobb: Political Economist Praise for The Hegemony of Growth: 'This fresh and important work recovers the contested past of national accounts as a tool to study and manage the economy. The OEEC and the OECD is stage and actor in Schmelzer's sophisticated appreciation of historically contingent value, and limits, of the idea of growth. -- Patricia Clavin - author of Securing the World Economy Praise for The Hegemony of Growth: Looking deeply into the question of whether the rich world can and should remain hellbent on growth is interesting and very useful. Agree or disagree, readers will find much here to spark their imaginations. -- Bill McKibben - author of Deep Economy Praise for The Hegemony of Growth: Economic growth is our prime social objective. How this came to be is shown by means of a careful and critical scrutiny of the OECD since 1947, which also questions the concept of growth itself. You won't find it anywhere else, let alone done so well. -- Avner Offer - author of The Challenge of Affluence Praise for The Hegemony of Growth: What are the origins of the idea of economic growth, and how and why did it come to be so hegemonic? Matthias Schmelzer's in-depth analysis of 'growthmanship' in the OECD is a must-read for anyone interested in these questions. -- Giorgos Kallis - editor of Degrowth: A Vocabulary for a New Era Praise for The Hegemony of Growth: Schmelzer has written a first-rate, pioneering and highly differentiated historical study of the rise of one of the most powerful concepts of our times, the concept of economic growth, and the crucial role played by the OECD. -- Hartmut Kaelble - author of A Social History of Europe A most comprehensive analysis of the different trends converging in the degrowth movement, showing its capacity to both subvert the logic of capitalism and project visions of social justice. A book that powerfully challenges any reductive views of degrowth. -- Silvia Federici The Future Is Degrowth - A Guide to a World beyond Capitalism offers a sober presentation of the futility of the ideology and pursuit of infinite growth on a finite planet. Current multiple crises, including the unfolding catastrophic global heating, ought to force humans to pull the brakes on current fatal pathways. However, myopia has locked humans in a fatal pursuit of wealth, power and externalizations built on the platform of oppression, colonial exploitation, ecological despoliation and barbaric economic supremacy made possible by militarism, cultural manipulations, delineation of sacrificial zones and acceptance of enforcement of sacred or untouchable zones to sustain unquenchable consumption and wasteful appetites. This book presents a call for a world in which, through sober acceptance of having toed highly destructive growth, consumption and developmental paths, human beings understand and respect the ecological limits of Mother Earth her and regain both their humanity and place in the communities of other beings. -- Nnimmo Bassey, author of To Cook a Continent, Destructive Extraction and the Climate Crisis in Africa In economics, 'growth' implies a malignancy absent in nature: perpetual expansion and extraction. This book rigorously demolishes a concept that is the intellectual foundation of today's economics profession, a central pillar of capitalism and the source of ecological depletion. -- Ann Pettifor A radical critique of capitalist growth and a powerful vision for a more just and ecological future. Don't miss this book. -- Jason Hickel

A most comprehensive analysis of the different trends converging in the degrowth movement, showing its capacity to both subvert the logic of capitalism and project visions of social justice. A book that powerfully challenges any reductive views of degrowth. -Silvia Federici The Future Is Degrowth offers a sober presentation of the futility of the ideology and pursuit of infinite growth on a finite planet. Current multiple crises, including the unfolding catastrophic global heating, ought to force humans to pull the brakes on current fatal pathways. However, myopia has locked humans in a fatal pursuit of wealth, power and externalizations built on the platform of oppression, colonial exploitation, ecological despoliation and barbaric economic supremacy made possible by militarism, cultural manipulations, delineation of sacrificial zones and acceptance of enforcement of sacred or untouchable zones to sustain unquenchable consumption and wasteful appetites. This book presents a call for a world in which, through sober acceptance of having toed highly destructive growth, consumption and developmental paths, human beings understand and respect the ecological limits of Mother Earth her and regain both their humanity and place in the communities of other beings. -Nnimmo Bassey, author of To Cook a Continent, Destructive Extraction and the Climate Crisis in Africa In economics, 'growth' implies a malignancy absent in nature: perpetual expansion and extraction. This book rigorously demolishes a concept that is the intellectual foundation of today's economics profession, a central pillar of capitalism and the source of ecological depletion. -Ann Pettifor A radical critique of capitalist growth and a powerful vision for a more just and ecological future. Don't miss this book. -Jason Hickel

Author Information

Matthias Schmelzer is an economic historian, social theorist and climate activist. He works at Friedrich-Schiller University of Jena and is active in various social-ecological networks and movements. He has published The Hegemony of Growth and edited Degrowth in Movement(s). Aaron Vansintjan is the co-founder of Uneven Earth, a website focusing on ecological politics. He has been published in The Guardian, Briarpatch Magazine, Red Pepper, Open Democracy, and The Ecologist. Andrea Vetter is a transformation researcher, activist and journalist, using degrowth, commons and critical eco-feminism as tools. She teaches transformation design at Braunschweig University of Art. She is editor of the magazine Oya and lives in and is co-founder of the House of Change, a transregional rural space for art, learning and co-creation in Eastern Germany.

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