Please recommend reading material around degrowth and alternative economy

[mango5]

There are so many overlapping ideas (see image below) and new slants on this (eg doughnut economics)... I'm trying to discern the free-floating thought experimenters, the real-world examples, other contributions, and understand links to ideas on sustainable development, deliberative democracy and other approaches.

Are there any schools of thought, commentators or key publications you can recommend? My head is exploding.

Thanks Urban

 

[Yuwipi Woman]

This was the book they were handing around when I was a freshman:

https://www.amazon.com/Small-Beauti...1512393478&sr=8-1&keywords=small+is+beautiful

 

[redsquirrel]

In what possible way is Joseph Stiglitz (former economist at the World Bank) "beyond capitalism". This is just a list of random names - Julian Assange=grass roots FFS. What/who's Epicure when it's at home?

 

[bimble]

i think it means epicurus , goes with 'slow yoga'.

 

[redsquirrel]

Well that would be my guess but if they can't even get than name right what does it say about what this graphic is trying to tell us.

 

[Brainaddict]

I'm sympathetic to what that diagram is trying to do, in that I think there are a lot of ideas around that could be the seeds of a new economy, and I think pulling them together is at least as important as the confrontation with the existing economy. But it's a bit of a random hodge-podge so not to be taken too seriously. For instance to put Ostrom and Bauwens in totally different parts of it makes it look just arbitrary.

On that topic, Bauwen's main project is the P2P Foundation - good blog with lots of economic ideas here: P2P Foundation

 

[NoXion]

Is growth inherently negative as the term "degrowth" would seem to suggest? I thought what matters is who is doing it, how they are doing it and for what purposes.

 

[mango5]

P2P foundation is very bitty and the diagram is actually quite unhelpful to get a grip on what is sometimes called post-growth capitalism. For some reason, the 'journal of cleaner production' seems to be a decent source.

 

[redsquirrel]

What do you mean by "post-growth" capitalism?

Stiglitz's proposals are basically just a return to mild social-democrat policies. I've not read Piketty's books from interviews/other pieces he seems to coming from a similar place.

 

[yield]

Is growth inherently negative as the term "degrowth" would seem to suggest? I thought what matters is who is doing it, how they are doing it and for what purposes.

Well quite. You could take the position that the problem is allocation of resources and read something like the The Accursed Share 1: Consumption by Georges Bataille

Our current fossil fuel economy is based on previous catalysms or extinction events. Life is inherently excessive.

 

[Beats & Pieces]

You need to state clearly what your area of interest is - and delineate more clearly your subjective position. Otherwise it will remain nothing more than a pretty picture with some names attached. Then again, 'Economists' like attempting to frame and subjugate (Macro / Micro) according to order - the overreach to be a 'science' (why?)

 

[butchersapron]

That's the worst chart that i've ever seen for anything ever.

The contradictions it smashes into a lovely whole is absurd. It's just using names to bamboozle (and sign on for/hire me?)

It is literally shit.

 

[mango5]

I was recommended the graphic as a way in to 'degrowth' by a fairly clued-up person. That's why I want to get a better grip on what they might think they are talking about with 'degrowth' because the graphic is worse than useless.

 

[redsquirrel]

Well you're going to have to get them to expand on what they mean by 'degrowth'. My suspicion is the 'degrowth' is every bit as incoherent as that graphic.

 

[DexterTCN]

Well you're going to have to get them to expand on what they mean by 'degrowth'. My suspicion is the 'degrowth' is every bit as incoherent as that graphic.

Or....you know....you could contribute something.

It's christmas.

Season of giving...charity...goodwill...all that stuff?

mango5 was only asking for suggestions and all you've done is attack their every post.

 

[yield]

I'm no anarchist but for "degrowth and alternative economy" maybe something like Murray Bookchin's Social Ecology would be a good place to start?

BA and others would know better than me.

 

[redsquirrel]

Or....you know....you could contribute something.

It's christmas.

Season of giving...charity...goodwill...all that stuff?

mango5 was only asking for suggestions and all you've done is attack their every post.

How can I suggest something when I, and seemingly the OP for that matter, have no idea what degrowth means.

 

[mango5]

I've found a dozen frameworks and definitions. Clearly some people think it's a 'thing'. I'm happy for those who relate to the term to offer their take on it and I'm not interested in establishing 'what it is' as it's not currently possible to my (or probably anyone else's) satisfaction. The graphic is only really useful for illustrating a set of notional connections between a wide range of academic and activist work. Not bothered about Winterval spirit or general courtesy, this is urban p&p after all.

 

[Almor]

Someone shared this on Facebook but it doesn't seem to be saying much really

Jason Hickel: Degrowth: A Call for Radical Abundance

 

[lucillemara]

strange graphic with decent and terrible people and ideas jumbled together for no obvious reason or connection to degrowth
the main thing is anti-productivism, which is good, and otherwise there isn't any standardised doctrine which is probably also good for now

 

[mango5]

Someone shared this on Facebook but it doesn't seem to be saying much really

Jason Hickel: Degrowth: A Call for Radical Abundance

Abundance mentality can overpower the constraint of depleted resources. Phantasmagorical buzzword laden blather