The theory of Degrowth was born in the 1970s with the thesis of mathematician and economist Nicholas Georgescu-Roegen, who determined that the existing economic model did not take into account the principle of energy and matter degradation. Through thermodynamics, he illustrated the ecological unsustainability of neoclassical economics, since it does not take into account that the total energy of the universe remains constant — it is neither created nor destroyed, only transformed. In this sense, GDP, for example, only considers the increase in production and the sale of goods and services, so environmental and social costs are not included in the price of the product.
The current development model — continuous economic growth — is unsustainable for all to see. We have exceeded environmental limits and climate disasters are becoming increasingly frequent, population growth continues, social inequality is ever more pronounced, and consumption and waste keep growing. And is the term “Sustainable development”, so fashionable today, viable within the climate emergency we are facing?
In 2019 the United Nations General Assembly declared 2021 the International Year of Creative Economy for Sustainable Development. “Creative industries are central to the sustainable development agenda. They spur innovation and economic diversification, are an important factor in the flourishing services sector, support entrepreneurship, and contribute to cultural diversity,” said Durant — Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In 2020, with the planet paralysed and in lockdown, the pandemic helped mobilise creative minds that developed interesting proposals in multiple fields — crafts, startups, art, community, etc. — however, that same year the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere reached a new historic record, standing at 413 parts per million, despite the relative reduction in new emissions caused by the pandemic.
As we said in the previous post on our Blog “Phytopolis, Plant City”, according to biologist Stefano Mancuso, if tomorrow the “whole” planet were to turn vegetarian, switch to electric cars and green energy, there would be no improvement at all — we would simply stop the deterioration at that exact moment and the situation would stop worsening, but it obviously would no longer be sustainable. So, in answer to the question of whether Sustainable Development is viable, the answer would be NO, since “any” development based on the production of goods and services will increase the need for resources and is unsustainable in a finite world. As sociologist and professor Ernest García says: “The concept of Sustainable Development is unbuildable, culturally disorienting and politically misleading.”
Degrowth is a current trend in economic, political and social thought that uses other alternative development indices, such as the Human Development Index, the Environmental Performance Index or the ecological footprint. It seeks a controlled and progressive reduction of production with the aim of balancing the relationship between human beings and nature. It is true that talking about degrowth can sound contradictory when there are countries where most of the population has not yet had access to even the most basic minimum rights. Here it should be pointed out that development is a term that concerns not only the increase in material well-being, but also access to health and culture, without imitating the consumption model promoted by the most developed countries. Degrowth seeks to achieve qualitative, human growth with limited resources. And as an alternative to Hyperdevelopment, Hyperproduction and Hyperconsumption, it promotes the 8 Rs: Re-evaluate (cooperation vs. competition), reconceptualise (poverty, scarcity, etc.), restructure (with a change of values), relocate (local production and consumption), redistribute (equality), reduce (limit to regenerative capacity), reuse and recycle. Degrowth therefore proposes consuming less in order to live better, and in this way achieve the balance between human beings and nature that is so necessary.
Would you be willing to consume less? La Companyia Verda certainly is.
