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Imaginaries of Hope: The Utopianism of Degrowth

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  • Giorgos Kallis
  • Hug March

Abstract

This article analyzes degrowth, a project of radical socioecological transformation calling for decolonizing the social imaginary from capitalism's pursuit of endless growth. Degrowth is an advanced reincarnation of the radical environmentalism of the 1970s and speaks to pertinent debates within geography. This article benefits from Ursula Le Guin's fantasy world to advance the theory of degrowth and respond to criticisms that degrowth offers an unappealing imaginary, which is retrogressive, Malthusian, and politically simplistic. We argue instead that degrowth is on purpose subversive; it brings the past into the future and into the production of the present; it makes a novel case for limits without denying that scarcity is socially produced; and it embraces conflict as its constitutive element. We discuss the politics of scale of the incipient degrowth movement, which we find theoretically wanting, yet creative in practice.

Suggested Citation

  • Giorgos Kallis & Hug March, 2015. "Imaginaries of Hope: The Utopianism of Degrowth," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 105(2), pages 360-368, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:raagxx:v:105:y:2015:i:2:p:360-368
    DOI: 10.1080/00045608.2014.973803
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Felix Windegger & Clive L. Spash, 2021. "Reconceptualising Freedom in the 21st Century: Degrowth vs. Neoliberalism," SRE-Disc sre-disc-2021_02, Institute for Multilevel Governance and Development, Department of Socioeconomics, Vienna University of Economics and Business.
    2. Drews, Stefan & Antal, Miklós, 2016. "Degrowth: A “missile word” that backfires?," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 126(C), pages 182-187.
    3. Morten Tønnessen, 2023. "Wasted GDP in the USA," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-14, December.
    4. Vandeventer, James Scott & Schmid, Benedikt, 2024. "What does degrowth do in/to empirical research? Methodological deliberations on placing degrowth ‘in the world’," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    5. Singh, Neera M., 2019. "Environmental justice, degrowth and post-capitalist futures," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 138-142.
    6. Maria Kaika & Angelos Varvarousis & Federico Demaria & Hug March, 2023. "Urbanizing degrowth: Five steps towards a Radical Spatial Degrowth Agenda for planning in the face of climate emergency," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(7), pages 1191-1211, May.
    7. Rodríguez-Labajos, Beatriz & Yánez, Ivonne & Bond, Patrick & Greyl, Lucie & Munguti, Serah & Ojo, Godwin Uyi & Overbeek, Winfridus, 2019. "Not So Natural an Alliance? Degrowth and Environmental Justice Movements in the Global South," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 175-184.
    8. Plomteux, Adrien, 2024. "Frugal abundance: Conceptualisation for degrowth," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    9. Lloveras, Javier & Marshall, Adam P. & Warnaby, Gary & Kalandides, Ares, 2021. "Mobilising Sense of Place for Degrowth? Lessons From Lancashire's Anti-fracking Activism," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 183(C).
    10. Mair, Simon & Druckman, Angela & Jackson, Tim, 2020. "A tale of two utopias: Work in a post-growth world," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 173(C).
    11. Naudé, Wim, 2023. "Melancholy Hues: The Futility of Green Growth and Degrowth, and the Inevitability of Societal Collapse," IZA Discussion Papers 16139, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    12. William Otchere-Darko, 2023. "Scaling-up degrowth: Re-imagining institutional responses to climate change," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 60(7), pages 1316-1325, May.
    13. Naudé, Wim, 2024. "Entrepreneurship Is Dangerously Obsessed with Growth and Incompatible with Current Visions of a Post-growth Society," IZA Discussion Papers 17158, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    14. Pansera, Mario & Lloveras, Javier & Durrant, Daniel, 2024. "The infrastructural conditions of (de-)growth: The case of the internet," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 215(C).
    15. Hoffmann, Maja & Pantazidou, Maro & Smith, Tone, 2023. "Critiques of work: The radical roots of degrowth," SocArXiv m9q2s, Center for Open Science.
    16. Naudé, Wim, 2023. "We Already Live in a Degrowth World, and We Do Not like It," IZA Discussion Papers 16191, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    17. Dorninger, Christian & Abson, David J. & Apetrei, Cristina I. & Derwort, Pim & Ives, Christopher D. & Klaniecki, Kathleen & Lam, David P.M. & Langsenlehner, Maria & Riechers, Maraja & Spittler, Nathal, 2020. "Leverage points for sustainability transformation: a review on interventions in food and energy systems," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 171(C).

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