In my view degrowth is required, either we do it on our own or climate change will degrow for us. It’s necessary not only to combat climate change but also ecological destruction. Jason Hickel is maybe the most well-known author on the topic, though it’s a much broader field.
To be clear, degrowth is not a form of primitivism, it’s not genocidal or Malthusian. It’s simply the concept that especially/primarily in the global north/imperial core production and consumption must be curbed, we are simply using more resources than can be supported by the planet. Planned obsolescence and unchecked consumption cannot continue. Those living in areas with sufficient productive ability need to shift production towards things that are necessary to allow those in the global south the ability to achieve standards of living available in the global north.
I know it’s controversial among some communists, so I wanted to see what lemmygrad thinks about the concept.
I don’t think I’ve ever seen it discussed. I think the rich nations made too many unnecessary goods which they refuse to repurpose. For example there’s tons upon tons of literal tons of outdated PC cases. You can buy them for maybe 20 euros. They don’t meet the modern standard for sufficient airflow and cooling and so on. They keep them just in case someone buys them because of the sunken cost. They should be recycled. That’s tons of metal and electronics just lying around.
I also firmly believe suburban architecture has to be abadonned and removed and cities have to degrow. They need to be taller and less wide. Nature literally need horizontal space to function.
I don’t believe we have any resource issue. We have resource management issue of an incredible magnitued motivated by greed and selfish unreasonable demands. Housing shouldn’t be a lifelong attachement. Families should have sufficient space and once kids move out they should also move to smaller spaces so families with children can move in. Ofc there’s more but I’m really lost when the topics are not discussed in a practical manner.
Also, while countries exist there will be no chance for one region to work to help another. That’s why I’m pro unions of all sorts to dissolute borders to the highest point possible while countries still exist as a concept.
On the topic of taller cities, I just want to add on that skyscrapers are not necessary for quality, dense cities. Parts of Paris are denser than New York City despite the latter being full of skyscrapers. Eixample in Barcelona is denser than Manhattan in NYC as well. These are still tall buildings mind you, but not skyscrapers.
I really wish there were more discussion of the topic. I think too often communist spaces can be so focused on geopolitical strife or following a specific historic line that analysis of these modern and extremely pressing issues just isn’t available.
I’m interested in why you say there aren’t any resource issues. For example, if every person on earth were to live like an average American we would need something like 5 earths for all of the resource inputs and land usage. I see many, from socdems to purported marxist-leninists (really patsocs) saying that we must spread American living across the world, and it’s simply not feasible.
Absolutely agree that borders being abolished is a bare minimum to help with these issues.
As you rightfully pointed out, capitalist world does create overconsumption through planned obsolescence and other means.
Should we not have to inflate our GDP by any means (as in a “single-country communism” scenario), we can safely reduce production and get way eco-friendlier by producing reliable goods and employing good practices for the production of food and other mass-consumed goods.
I think it is clear that degrowth can not happen under a capitalist system and when talking about degrowth in it the ideas associated are ofte no more than buzzwords. What exactly does “ethical consumption” mean under capitalism for example.
Also the word degrowth is not proper, a economy can only decrease as long as it can provide necessary goods for citizens, when the popultation grows, the economy has to grow aswell.
I believe, that under communism we won’t define ourselfs by our consumption and thus we can get rid of our artificial desires, that now plague our planet. I therefore think that what you describe as degrowth is not a problem in communism, but rather a consequence of it.
