[PeDAGoG] The best book we have ever written is now published: "The case for degrowth" by Giorgos Kallis, Susan Paulson, Giacomo D'Alisa and Federico Demaria (Polity Press, 2020)

Tue Sep 15 18:50:15 CEST 2020

Dear all,
we are happy to say that our new book on degrowth is out
<https://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9781509535620>!

Covid-19 has lain bare the fragility of existing economic systems. Any
decline in market activity threatens systemic collapse. But it doesn’t have
to be this way.  To be more resilient to future crises –pandemic, climatic,
financial, or political – we need to build systems capable of scaling back
production in ways that do not cause loss of livelihood or life.  We make
the case for degrowth.

Degrowth is not simply a contraction of the economy, it is living
meaningfully, enjoying simple pleasures, working less, sharing and relating
more with others in more equal societies. Its goal is to purposefully slow
things down in order to minimize harm to humans and earth systems.

The world will change after the virus, and there will be struggles over
which paths to take.  But the time is ripe for us to refocus on what really
matters: not GDP, but the health and wellbeing of our people and our
planet. In a word, degrowth.

This book is unlike any other on degrowth, in that it is the first to try
to address the hard question of 'how to' in the current political
conjuncture. Most books on degrowth stay on the diagnosis and on
prescriptions - this book thinks hard about the grassroots and
institutional politics that can realize a transformation towards degrowth.
Our book differs from those by also offering encouraging ways forward in
daily practices and values, in communal organizing, in government policies,
and in political mobilization.

Find here a short article about the book by the authors in Open Democracy: "The
case for degrowth in a time of pandemic
<https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/case-degrowth-time-pandemic/>"

You can buy the book here
<https://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9781509535620> for 8 euros
(Discount code: FAL20).

We hope you like it. In case, please help us out with dissemination! :-)

Best,
the authors: Giorgos, Susan, Giacomo and Federico

[image: Kallis et al Twitter.jpg]

*Endorsements *

“COVID-19 is the symptom; the profit-driven destruction of natural and
social habitants is the disease. There's only one cure consistent with
global social justice.  Read this eloquent and urgent book and find out
what it is.”
*Mike Davis, University of California and author of Ecology of Fear and
Planet of Slums  *

“This is a major contribution to the current debate on growth and degrowth.
The authors lay bare the innards of each and show us the importance of
degrowth. Wellbeing, equity, and sustainability are key vectors organizing
this text.”
*Saskia Sassen, Columbia University and author of Expulsions*

“Degrowth is one of the most important ideas of the 21st century. Here it
is in compact form. Clear, timely, urgent. Don't miss this book.”
*Jason Hickel, London School of Economics and author of The Divide and Less
is More*

*The Case for Degrowth*

*By Giorgos Kallis, Susan Paulson, Giacomo D'Alisa, Federico Demaria *(Polity
Press, 2020)

The relentless pursuit of economic growth is the defining characteristic of
contemporary societies. Yet it benefits few and demands monstrous social
and ecological sacrifice. Is there a viable alternative? How can we halt
the endless quest to grow global production and consumption and instead
secure socio-ecological conditions that support lives worth living for all?

In this compelling book, leading experts Giorgos Kallis, Susan Paulson,
Giacomo D’Alisa and Federico Demaria make the case for degrowth - living
well with less, by living differently, prioritizing wellbeing, equity and
sustainability.  Drawing on emerging initiatives and enduring traditions
around the world, they advance a radical degrowth vision and outline
policies to shape work and care, income and investment that avoid
exploitative and unsustainable practices. Degrowth, they argue, can be
achieved through transformative strategies that allow societies to slow
down by design, not disaster.

Essential reading for all concerned citizens, policy-makers, and students,
this book will be an important contribution to one of the thorniest and
most pressing debates of our era.

*Reviews*
“COVID-19 is the symptom; the profit-driven destruction of natural and
social habitants is the disease. There's only one cure consistent with
global social justice.  Read this eloquent and urgent book and find out
what it is.”
*Mike Davis, University of California and author of Ecology of Fear and
Planet of Slums  *

“This is a major contribution to the current debate on growth and degrowth.
The authors lay bare the innards of each and show us the importance of
degrowth. Wellbeing, equity, and sustainability are key vectors organizing
this text. These should be understood in the fullness of their capacities
to move us out of our current modernity --a decaying order that is today
still dominant. But history has shown us across the centuries that no
system of power can last for ever, and nor will our current system. Indeed,
it is busy destroying itself.”
*Saskia Sassen, Columbia University and author of Expulsions*

“Degrowth is one of the most important ideas of the 21st century. Here it
is in compact form. Clear, timely, urgent. Don't miss this book.”
*Jason Hickel, London School of Economics and author of The Divide and Less
is More*

“Is there life after economic growth? Kallis and his co-authors have taken
up the baton from the early proponents of degrowth and created a vibrant,
accessible discourse for the 21st Century. The Case for Degrowth provides
the why, the where and the how of a better economy and a richer society.
Its vision is needed now more than ever.”
*Tim Jackson, Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity and
author of Prosperity without Growth*

 “The COVID pandemic is laying bare dysfunctions of the growth model and
the urgency of a pathway to sanity, climate protection, and security for
all. This wonderful and accessible introduction by leading degrowth
scholars is a vital resource for anyone interested in viable alternatives,
rooted in cooperative economic relations and respect for planetary limits.”
*Juliet Schor, author of After the Gig: how the sharing economy got
hijacked and how to win it back*

 “A superb account of why capitalist economies fail life on Earth, even as
peoples initiatives in community sharing already revive joy and hope for
our futures. This small book teaches economics like no other. It will reply
to your doubts about change. It should be on every public library shelf and
every syllabus; give copies to your friends.”
*Ariel Salleh, activist and editor of Eco-Sufficiency and Global Justice:
Women write Political Ecology*

“The case for degrowth as argued in this book is so well rounded and
compelling that it is difficult to imagine how progressive politicians
could avoid integrating the many policies advocated here into their party
manifestos . . . unless of course they cannot escape the growth mentality
that has suffocated progressive policies for decades. But even in this
case, the book offers ways of changing that mentality through commoning and
collective action.”
*Massimo De Angelis, University of East London, editor of The Commoner, and
author of Omnia Sunt Communia*

 “The degrowth movement now has its Manifesto. A rigorous, practical
analysis that will guide grassroots and institutional politics so they can
realize a transformation akin to degrowth and turn the current global
crisis into a new opportunity and pathway towards more sustainable and
carrying societies.”
*Isabelle Anguelovski, Barcelona Lab for Urban Environmental Justice and
Sustainability (BCNUEJ) and author of Neighborhood as Refuge*

“By this book, degrowth finally becomes adult. No longer a simple game of
hide-and-seek with the growth regime. No longer a vague illusion postponed
until the advent of a catastrophe that never comes. No longer a generous
experimentation among circles of virtuosos nor an extreme form of
resilience by the excluded from the banquet of the consumer society, but a
mature and innovative political project, facing the hegemony challenge in
the open field of the social arena. The authors are the best fruits of the
degrowth movement: activists at the forefront and at the same time leading
scholars.”
*Onofrio Romano, University of Bari and author of Towards a society of
degrowth*

"Degrowth is one of the most exciting approaches to emerge from the belly
of the industrialised and colonising world, fundamentally challenging its
unsustainable and inequitable path of 'development'. But approaches and
concepts also need praxis, else they remain in rarified ivory towers.
Perhaps for the first time, here, degrowth proponents transform visions and
recommendations into a coherent set of actions, from our individual choices
to macro-economics and politics. Essential reading for anyone interested in
transforming society to be crisis-resilient and crisis-avoiding!"

*Ashish Kothari, activist and co-editor of Pluriverse: A Post-Development
Dictionary *

“Decrecer es la consigna. Más y más crecimiento económico en un mundo
finito es una locura. Más todavía si éste ahonda las diferencias sociales,
las frustraciones y la infelicidad. No podemos mantener ese ritmo
despiadado de acumulación del que afloran múltiples pandemias, como la del
coronavirus. No hay duda, requerimos una desaceleración programada de la
actividad económica para reencontrarnos armónicamente con los ritmos de la
Madre Tierra, así como para construir otras sociedades basadas en la
diversidad, la sostenibilidad, la pluralidad y la reciprocidad; bases
fundamentales del Pluriverso: un mundo donde quepan todos los mundos
posibles que aseguren una vida digna a humanos y no humanos.”

*Alberto Acosta, former president of the Constituent Assembly of Ecuador
and author of Buen Vivir*

*Table of Contents*Acknowledgements
1. A case for degrowth
2. Sacrifices of growth
3. Making changes on the ground
4. Path-breaking reforms
5. Strategies for mobilization
Frequently asked questions
Notes

-- 

Federico Demaria

Faculty of economics, Universitat de Barcelona

Research & Degrowth (R&D <http://www.degrowth.org/>)

Institut de Ciència i Tecnologia Ambientals (ICTA
<http://icta.uab.cat>), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB
<http://www.uab.cat>)

[image: http://vocabulary.degrowth.org/]
<http://vocabulary.degrowth.org/>[image: Image result for
post-development dictionary] <http://thepluriverse.org>

New papers: "Environmental conflicts and defenders
<https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378020301424?via%3Dihub>";
"Who promotes sustainability? 5 theses on degrowth and env justice
<https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921800919306160?via%3Dihub>";

"Geographies of degrowth
<https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/2514848619869689?journalCode=enea>";
"Garbage is Gold: Waste-based Commodity Frontiers
<https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10455752.2019.1694553?journalCode=rcns20>".

Profile here <https://uab.academia.edu/FedericoDemaria> with all my
publications, freely downloadable.

Project: EnvJustice <http://www.envjustice.org/>

https://politybooks.com/bookdetail/?isbn=9781509535620
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