The Future is Degrowth, Aaron Vansintjan
The Future is Degrowth, Aaron Vansintjan
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The Future is Degrowth
A Guide to a World Beyond Capitalism

Author: Aaron Vansintjan, Matthias Schmelzer, Andrea Vetter

Narrator: Ulf Bjorklund

Unabridged: 9 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 04/25/2023


Synopsis

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, and points to desirable alternatives to it.

Not only in society at large, but also on the left, we are held captive by the hegemony of growth. Even proposals for emancipatory Green New Deals or postcapitalism base their utopian hopes on the development of productive forces, on redistributing the fruits of economic growth and technological progress. Yet growing evidence shows that continued economic growth cannot be made compatible with sustaining life and is not necessary for a good life for all.

This book provides a vision for postcapitalism beyond growth. It discusses the political economy and the politics of a non-growing economy. It charts a path forward through policies that democratize the economy, "now-topias" that create free spaces for experimentation, and counter-hegemonic movements that make it possible to break with the logic of growth. Degrowth perspectives offer a way to step off the treadmill of an alienating, expansionist, and hierarchical system.

About Aaron Vansintjan

Aaron Vansintjan lives in Montreal and writes about food, cities, politics, and ecology. He is the cofounder of Uneven Earth, a website focusing on ecological politics. He has been published in the Guardian, Briarpatch magazine, Red Pepper, Truthout, Open Democracy, and the Ecologist.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Kevin on April 15, 2024

A toolbox to build Degrowth as common sense… Preamble: --Of the 3 intros to degrowth I’ve read, I would rank as follows: i) Hickel’s Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World: foundational. ii) This book: useful survey on "why?", but missing "how?". iii) Saito’s Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto......more

Goodreads review by Benjamin on August 18, 2022

Somewhat dissapointed in the book. It does a great job in laying out the argument against perpetual capitalist growth, as well as the general positive principles and vision of degrowth. But where the book is severely lacking is laying out the exact, material, practical, concrete *How* are you going......more

Goodreads review by Laura on February 08, 2023

As endorsed multiple times by the authors, this book comes as a introductory, holistic approach of the Degrowth movement. It might turn out frustrating for people looking for simple answers and a list of bills to vote for and petitions to sign, because the book serves its full purpose: to holistical......more

Goodreads review by Martin on November 22, 2022

A decent overview of the plethora of ideas that can be placed under the umbrella of degrowth this book has much of interest to the anti-capitalist reader. But its chief failure is that it cannot articulate a theory of change that explains how the movement can smash the capitalist state - the set of......more

Goodreads review by Sarah on April 09, 2025

Woah. While this honestly felt like I was reading a textbook, I simply love the degrowth perspective and this book did a great job at simplifying the concept. It addressed all of the typical concerns about degrowth while proving its achievability and giving direct policy proposals. This made me want......more