State of the World 2012 MOVING TOWARD SUSTAINABLE PROSPERITY THE WORLDWATCH INSTITUTE CHAPTER 2 The Path to Degrowth in Overdeveloped Countries Erik Assadourian n 2010, the Second Conference on Eco - help fUnd alternatives to the cUrrent UnsUs - nomic Degrowth for Ecological SUstain - tainable economic system. While UndoUbt - I ability and Social EqUity in Barcelona, Spain, edly Unconventional, DUran’s actions and convened more than 500 participants from sUbseqUent arrest certainly drew attention to over 40 coUntries to discUss how to inten - the movement. 2 tionally “degrow” the global economy. (See Degrowth in a globalized cUltUre where Box 2–1 for the definition of degrowth.) A growth is seen to be essential for economic sUc - variety of academic papers were discUssed— cess and societal well-being seems to be a from the mechanics of economic degrowth to political non-starter even for those who may be strategies on how to pUrsUe and commUnicate sympathetic. For most people, who deeply this challenging concept. 1 believe growth is essential to modern The conference even drew attention to economies, it seems to be a recipe for economic some radical (albeit Unsanctioned) approaches and societal collapse. BUt the rapidly warming to bUilding the movement. At the peak of the Earth and other declines in ecosystem services global financial bUbble, for example, Enric reveal that economic degrowth is essential and DUran—claiming to be an entrepreneUr start - will need to be pUrsUed as qUickly as possible ing a new technology bUsiness in Spain— in order to stabilize Earth’s climate and prevent approached a nUmber of banks to seek loans. irreparable harm to the planet and, in the He then promptly donated most of the process, hUman civilization. 3 500,000 eUros he collected to the degrowth Already, the conversation is changing in the movement (minUs interest and taxes paid). media and among scientists. The hope of pre - Called by some a modern-day Robin Hood, venting a temperatUre rise of 2 degrees Cel - DUran Used the loose lending practices of the siUs is weakening. NUmeroUs stUdies have bUbble era to engage in this act of what he foUnd that hUmanity is now on a path to called “financial disobedience” and help reveal increase the average global temperatUre by 4 the risks of a poorly regUlated financial system degrees CelsiUs. Most recently, the joUrnal while simUltaneoUsly generating resoUrces to Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Erik Assadourian is a senior fellow at the Worldwatch InstitUte and director of its Transforming CUltUres Project. He is co-director of State of the World 2012 . 22 WWW.WORLDWATCH.ORG SUSTAINABLE PROSPERITY The Path to Degrowth in Overdeveloped Countries Box 2–1. Defining Degrowth Degrowth is the intentional redirection of is abandoning faith in the promise of growth economies away from the perpetual pursuit as driver of development. Economist Tim of growth. For economies beyond the limits Jackson puts this idea in a user-friendly way, of their ecosystems, this includes a planned calling for “prosperity without growth.” How - and controlled contraction to get back in line ever, that prosperity should not be confused with planetary boundaries, with the eventual with what is deemed prosperity by many creation of a steady-state economic system today—a consumer lifestyle—as that depends that is in balance with Earth’s limits. on a growth economic model and overuse of Degrowth should not be confused with Earth’s natural capital. Instead, as Latouche economic decline. As Serge Latouche, a lead - explains, a prosperous society is one “in ing thinker on degrowth, explains, “The move - which we can live better lives whilst working ment for a ‘degrowth society’ is radically less and consuming less.” different from the recession that is wide- Thus degrowth will be a step toward a spread today. Degrowth does not mean the more secure, sustainable, sane, and just decay or suffering often imagined by those future, helping to reduce the number and size new to this concept. Instead, degrowth can be of ecologically destructive industries and to compared to a healthy diet voluntarily under - reorient economies in ways that improve well- taken to improve a person’s well-being, while being, strengthen community resilience, and negative economic growth can be compared restore Earth’s systems—a path that from any to starvation.” sane perspective would be hard to confuse Ultimately degrowth is a process, not the with economic decline. end point. As Latouche notes, the end point Source: See endnote 1. even examined projections of a 4 degree capita consUmption terms), depending on how increase not by 2100 bUt by 2060, follow - mUch hUman activities warm the world. 5 ing the path of emissions that society is cUr - These ecological changes are broUght ever rently on. This path translates to catastrophe closer and made ever larger by people’s con - for hUman society: massive shifts in popUla - tinUed belief that growth by all on an over - tion as coasts flood, areas hit by extreme taxed planet is a UsefUl pUrsUit. In the past weather and droUghts, and diseases spread half-centUry, growth has been Understood as to new areas. And the 2011 climate talks in the cUre-all to societal problems. In reality, DUrban did nothing to stop the world’s rUsh while it may help sometimes, continUed eco - to this fUtUre. 4 nomic growth is at the root of ecological shifts With governments like Canada pUlling oUt that will caUse far worse problems. As the of the Kyoto Protocol and with a new climate Prince of Wales noted in May 2011, “OUr agreement probably stalled Until 2020, the myopic determination to ignore the facts and world is in all likelihood in for massive eco - to continUe with bUsiness as UsUal is, I fear, cre - logical shifts, which needless to say are incom - ating the risk of a crash which will be far more patible with a growing global economy. Indeed, dramatic, and far harder to recover from, than in 2007 the Stern Review on the Economics of anything we have experienced over the past Climate Change projected that climate change few years.” 6 coUld redUce global economic well-being any - And while that may be evident to those where from 5 to 20 percent (measUred in per who stUdy environmental trends, society is so SUSTAINABLEPROSPERITY.ORG 23 The Path to Degrowth in Overdeveloped Countries STATE OF THE WORLD 20 12 committed to growth that even many envi - nected to overconsUmption—since afflUence ronmentalists and sUstainable development and development decoUpled long ago for many experts still advocate for “green growth,” or jUst in these coUntries. The clearest indicator is the decoUpling of growth from material con - the obesity epidemic now plagUing most indUs - sUmption. As Harald Welzer, aUthor of Men - trial coUntries and developing-world elites. In tal Infrastructures: How Growth Entered the the United States, two of every three adUlts are World and Our Souls , notes, “The cUrrent now overweight or obese, redUcing their qUal - debate on decoUpling…serves above all to ity of life, shortening life spans, and costing the maintain the illUsion that we can make a sUffi - coUntry an extra $270 billion a year in med - cient nUmber of minor adjUstments in order to ical costs and lost prodUctivity dUe to early redUce the negative environmental conse - deaths and disabilities. This epidemic may even qUences of economic growth while leaving oUr lead to the next generation living fewer years present system intact.” BUt hUmanity needs to than their parents did, primarily dUe to obesity- radically transform the global economy, redUc - related problems like heart disease, diabetes, ing its size by at least one third—based on the and certain cancers. Tragic statistics, bUt there conservative ecological footprint indicator, are many who prosper from this type of which finds that hUmanity is cUrrently Using the growth: agribUsiness, processed-food manU - ecological capacity of 1.5 Earths—even while factUrers, marketers, hospitals, pharmaceUtical the poorest one third of hUmanity needs to companies, and others all profit from main - increase total consUmption considerably in taining the statUs qUo. The diet indUstry alone order to achieve a decent qUality of life. 7 earns Up to $100 billion a year on obesity in the United States. And the United States is not The Curse of Overdevelopment exceptional on this front, merely a trendsetter. In 2010, 1.9 billion people were overweight Ultimately, overdeveloped coUntries (and or obese worldwide, Up 38 percent over 2002, overdeveloped popUlations within developing even thoUgh total popUlation rose 11 percent coUntries) will need to either proactively pUr - in that time. 8 sUe a degrowth path or continUe down the bro - Obesity, UnfortUnately, is not the only side ken path of growth Until coasts flood, effect of overdevelopment. Increased debt bUr - farmlands dry Up, and other massive ecologi - dens, long working hoUrs, pharmaceUtical cal changes force them away from growth into dependence, time trapped in traffic, even a mad dash for societal sUrvival. If overdevel - increased levels of social isolation stem at least oped popUlations keep ignoring the looming in part from high-consUmption lifestyles. changes—keeping their proverbial heads bUried Indeed, while many modern advances—per - in the sand—then this transition will be brU - sonal transport, single-family homes, televi - tal and painfUl. BUt if a strategy of degrowth, sions, compUters, and electronic gadgets—seem economic diversification, and sUpport for the to have improved hUman well-being, in reality informal economy is pUrsUed now, before most these advances may have imposed significant of societal energy and capital is focUsed on sacrifices on consUmer popUlations withoUt reacting to ecological shifts, these overdevel - their knowledge or consent. 9 oped popUlations may discover a series of ben - More broadly, along with redUcing the efits to their own welfare, to their long-term physical and societal side effects of the obses - secUrity, and to Earth’s well-being.