From Fall 2023-Summer 2024, a series of monthly webinars titled "Aim High, Degrow: Dialogues on Degrowth" was held that brought together degrowth scholars from various countries with EUC faculty as moderators for virtual discussions on degrowth. The seminars explored definitions and reflections on degrowth, key debates in this emerging academic field and social movement, and how degrowth connects to major questions around environmental and urban change. Organized by Professor Lina Brand Correa and Master of Environmental Studies (MES) Degrowth IDS group, Kelly Gingrich, Elaine Howarth, and Anna Stratton, the series attracted over 600 participants globally.
“A lot of degrowth scholarship is still concentrated in European countries (with collaboration in various places across the Global South). I think it’s really important that we localize this social movement and interdisciplinary field of research to so-called Canada and other settler states because there is still a gap here. What better place than EUC? As MES students, it was exciting to actually be in conversation with these degrowth scholars, and realize how comprehensive our learning throughout the program had been in this area” – Kelly Gingrich
What is degrowth?
Degrowth is a multi-faceted response to the many crises we face around the world. This sub-field of ecological economics turned social movement argues that we cannot maintain infinite economic growth on a finite planet. The pursuit of growth at all costs, a central feature of capitalist systems, has come at the expense of people and planet. Unlike ‘green growth’, degrowth recognizes that ‘greening’ the current economic system (e.g. merely swapping fossil fuels for renewables) is not the solution to our environmental and social crises. What we actually need is a planned contraction of production and consumption in overdeveloped countries (i.e. countries in the Global North). This planned contraction would not just entail phasing out harmful and superfluous industries, but reorients how we measure ‘progress’ towards wellbeing of people and ecosystems instead of growth for growth’s sake.
Session 1 - Degrowth: A slogan, a movement or a concept?
The first session in the series, titled "Degrowth: A slogan, a movement or a concept?", featured speakers Peter Victor and Sam Bliss (University of Vermont), who brought their expertise to the forefront of the discussion. Moderated by Anna Zalik, the webinar provided a comprehensive exploration of degrowth. This session addressed general questions about degrowth, what it is and what it is not, and the controversies surrounding its name and objectives.
Victor added his own perspective based on Jason Hickel’s degrowth definition: “Degrowth is also a critique of capitalism and its dependency on growth based on the drive for the accumulation of capital. Secondly, it is also a social movement centered primarily in continental Europe but with an increasing presence in other parts of the world,” he said.
Victor presented a slide showing a transitory period of degrowth leading to a steady-state GDP, prompting the audience to consider, “Is it possible to simultaneously pursue degrowth while also engaging in large-scale transition activities that imply large amounts of investment in new capacities and technologies?”
Bliss provided a discussion on economic growth and analyzed trends of material use and GDP, especially in Canada, stating that “the problem is at the tailpipe, not the fuel tank”. This session involved the discussion about the origins of degrowth, the controversies around its name, the advances in recognition of degrowth in academia, grassroots initiatives and political debates, and the directions of future research and action on degrowth.
Session 2 - Decolonization and feminism: Does degrowth cut it?
Followed by Decolonization and feminism: Does degrowth cut it?, this session was moderated by Ellie Perkins, and featured discussions by Corinna Dengler (Institute for Multilevel Governance and Development, Vienna, Austria) and Wendy Harcourt (Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Hague). Dengler presented “Making the Hidden Visible: Feminist Roots of and Struggles in Degrowth,” while Harcourt shared perspectives on what degrowth has taken from feminism. The dialogue focused on whether degrowth aligns with decolonial and feminist approaches. Speakers with Perkins moderating, promised to dissect the synergies and contradictions between these critical perspectives, and they mainly focused on the question “Where are the synergies and where are the contradictions between decolonization and feminism, and degrowth?”. The talk also highlighted Modern Monetary Theory (MMT), which provides a lens to view the global economic system in a way that challenges many assumptions and conventions of dominant macroeconomic thinking. At its core, MMT suggests that, unlike individuals, households, corporations, and sub-level governments, national governments that control their own currencies do not need to balance their budgets.
Session 3 - Degrowth and the city: urbanization and planning for degrowth
The third session on Degrowth and the city: Urbanization and planning for degrowth, was moderated by Luisa Sotomayor, with speakers Federico Savini (University of Amsterdam) and Jin Xue (Norwegian University of Life Sciences). This event focused on the implications of a degrowth future for cities, discussing planning theory and practice as well as housing issues.
The session also explored how Indigenous worldviews can inform planning. It provided insights into Indigenous planning, emphasizing that Indigenous Peoples around the world have had and continue to have their own forms of land-use practices and laws. In settler nations such as so-called Canada, settler planning practices are often in opposition to or do not consider the forms of land-use that Indigenous Peoples have been practicing since time immemorial.
Session 4 - Degrowth and systems: Back to the caves or back to the future?
The fourth session on “Degrowth and systems: Back to the caves or back to the future?”, was joined by speakers Julia Steinberger (University of Lausanne) and Toni Ruuska (University of Helsinki), with Mark Winfield as the moderator. This session focused on the role of technology in a degrowth future, particular in the energy sector. The discussion aimed to explore how to get energy sufficiency on the table politically, especially in North America, which is lagging behind on the energy transition. As with all topics in degrowth, balancing top-down and bottom-up strategies was highlighted as an urgent question. The conversation emphasized the meaning and potential future of convivial technology. Steinberger, a lead author of the IPCC assessment report with Working Group III, introduced their project and noted that their latest effort involved modeling a "Decent Living Energy" future. Ruuska explored various perspectives on technology within the degrowth movement and shared progress on a forthcoming book, which follows up on the previous publication, "Sustainability Beyond Technology."
Session 5: Degrowth and the State
The fifth session on “Degrowth and the State” discussed the role of the state in a degrowth future. This session was moderated by Stefan Kipfer with speakers Milena Buchs (University of Leeds) and Max Koch (Lund University). The discussion centered on the role of the state in a degrowth future.
The discussion tackled questions such as: What balance does degrowth propose between localism and other levels of governance, including national states and the international level? In Koch’s conclusion, he mentioned that “Degrowth and allied movements have no alternative but to mobilize in a range of civil-society fields and try to occupy strategic positions within the state to initiate social-ecological transformations.” Moreover, Buchs highlighted that “state actors can and should play an important role in implementing “postgrowth” initiatives, but likely to be slow and incremental."
Session 6: Transitioning to a degrowth future: Naïve or revolutionary?
The final session on "Transitioning to a Degrowth Future: Naïve or Revolutionary?", brought together speakers Barbara Muraca (University of Oregon) and Hubert Buch-Hansen (Roskilde University, Denmark), with Justin Podur as moderator. The session focused on potential pathways for a degrowth transition. Muraca critiqued both monetary and material growth, discussing how benefits and burdens are distributed. Buch-Hansen's discussion centered on five key questions: "What are we aiming for with degrowth transformation? Would degrowth be revolutionary? What are the pathways? What are the obstacles? Is it naïve?" He also outlined four prerequisites for degrowth paradigm shift and these are: deep crisis, an alternative political project, a comprehensive coalition of social forces promoting the project in political struggles, and broad-based consent.
Aim High, Degrow: Dialogues on Degrowth provided a platform for critical discussions on how degrowth can address major environmental and social challenges and fostered insightful dialogues on this emerging academic field and social movement at York University.
“The intent of this seminar series was to bring degrowth into conversation with some of the work that we do in EUC. Reflecting on the series as a whole, I found more points of overlap and complementarity than I originally expected, likely because of degrowth’s strong anti-capitalist and transformative stance. I hope that these dialogues will continue - there is a lot more work that degrowth needs to do (for instance around decolonization, political and social theory, and urban planning), and there are important insights that can be taken from degrowth (for example around energy and material realities, and different conceptions of wellbeing). So let’s keep talking!” - Lina Brand Correa