Hi Matt, I just posted this on the Scale Down FB page. Food for thought.
What's the Difference between Scale Down and Degrowth?
You may have wondered about that. Jason Hickel, a noted proponent of degrowth, defines it as "a planned reduction of energy and resource use designed to bring the economy back into balance with the living world in a way that reduces inequality and improves human well-being."
Scale Down encompasses that same definition. Moreover, it understands that true balance with the living world also requires a purposeful, significant, and timely reduction in our numbers for the wellbeing and very survival of more-than-human life.
I'd urge the degrowth folks to take on a more biocentric perspective to avoid the excessive anthropocentrism that has ruined the sustainability movement. I suggest that any social or economic movement that fails to undo the dominion-over-nature ideology of our civilization is doomed to failure. (See https://scaledown.substack.com/.../two-compelling-reasons...).
I also prefer the Scale Down banner over Degrowth because of the latter's somewhat negative sound. I keep hearing supportive people that are uncomfortable with that label. Scale down may also sound a bit too downy but it hopefully implies "shaping up."
Check out Matt Orsagh's degrowth library below (link provided).
Thanks for the book recommendations. Anyone else have resources to share?
I would recommend two more books:
Energy and Human Ambiutionson a Finite Planet, by Tom Murphy
Slow Down, The Degrowth Manifesto, by Kohei Saito
Hi Matt, I just posted this on the Scale Down FB page. Food for thought.
What's the Difference between Scale Down and Degrowth?
You may have wondered about that. Jason Hickel, a noted proponent of degrowth, defines it as "a planned reduction of energy and resource use designed to bring the economy back into balance with the living world in a way that reduces inequality and improves human well-being."
Scale Down encompasses that same definition. Moreover, it understands that true balance with the living world also requires a purposeful, significant, and timely reduction in our numbers for the wellbeing and very survival of more-than-human life.
I'd urge the degrowth folks to take on a more biocentric perspective to avoid the excessive anthropocentrism that has ruined the sustainability movement. I suggest that any social or economic movement that fails to undo the dominion-over-nature ideology of our civilization is doomed to failure. (See https://scaledown.substack.com/.../two-compelling-reasons...).
I also prefer the Scale Down banner over Degrowth because of the latter's somewhat negative sound. I keep hearing supportive people that are uncomfortable with that label. Scale down may also sound a bit too downy but it hopefully implies "shaping up."
Check out Matt Orsagh's degrowth library below (link provided).
#degrowth #scaledown #scaledown4nature