Towards a Political Economy of Degrowth - Paperback

by Ekaterina Chertkovskaya (Editor), Alexander Paulsson (Editor), Stefania Barca (Editor)

Since the 1970s, the degrowth idea has been proposed by scholars, public intellectuals and activists as a powerful call to reject the obsession of neoliberal capitalism with economic growth, an obsession which continues apace despite the global ecological crisis and rising inequalities. In the past decade, degrowth has gained momentum and become an umbrella term for various social movements which strive for ecologically sustainable and socially just alternatives that would transform the world we live in.

How to move forward in an informed way, without reproducing the existing hierarchies and injustices? How not to end up in a situation when ecological sustainability is the prerogative of the privileged, direct democracy is ignorant of environmental issues, and localisation of production is xenophobic? These are some of the questions that have inspired this edited collection.

Bringing degrowth into dialogue with critical social theories, covering previously unexplored geographical contexts and discussing some of the most contested concepts in degrowth, the book hints at informed paths towards socio-ecological transformation.

Author Biography

Ekaterina Chertkovskaya is a Researcher in Degrowth and Critical Organisation Studies based at Lund University and a member of the editorial collective of ephemera journal.

Alexander Paulsson is a Senior Lecturer at Lund University School of Economics and Management.

Stefania Barca is an environmental historian and Senior Researcher, Center for Social Studies, University of Coimbra.