Degrowth is an idea that critiques the global capitalist system which pursues growth at all costs, causing human exploitation and environmental destruction. The degrowth movement of activists and researchers advocates for societies that prioritize social and ecological well-being instead of corporate profits, over-production and excess consumption.
This requires radical redistribution, reduction in the material size of the global economy, and a shift in common values towards care, solidarity and autonomy. Degrowth means transforming societies to ensure environmental justice and a good life for all within planetary boundaries.
Want to find out more?
Short videos
"What is Degrowth" by DegrowBTV
"Demystifying Degrowth" by Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung
"Don’t Tell Me to Just Breathe" — Mental health in the context of growth-dependency and climate breakdown by Swarm Dynamics in collaboration with CUSP and the Wellbeing Economy Alliance
"How We End Consumerism" by Our Changing Climate
Short articles
"Degrowth" by Uneven Earth
"Caring for Change: Our Degrowth is Intersectional!" by Corinna Dengler and Giacomo D’Alisa:
"Degrowth: A Call for Radical Abundance" (with a focus on London and the UK) by Jason Hickel
Longer videos
"Fairytales of Growth" by Pierre Smith Khanna
"Degrowth: A realistic demand for the impossible" by Timothée Parrique at the Stockholm Resilience Centre
"Decolonising Degrowth" by Degrowth Talks (voices from the majority world)
Podcasts
"Degrowth: why some economists think abandoning growth is the only way to save the planet" by The Conversation Weekly
"The road ahead: Strategies for socio-economic transformation" by Ekaterina Chertkovskaya for Economic for Rebels
"How degrowth will save the world (part one)" by Jason Hickel on Tribune Radio
Degrowth in the mainstream media
Books for further reading
"Less is More" by Jason Hickel
"The Future is Degrowth" by Matthias Schmelzer, Andrea Vetter and Aaron Vansintjan
"Degrowth: A vocabulary for a new era" by Giacomo D’Alisa, Federico Demaria and Giorgios Kallis (available for free)