[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)

Thu Sep 17 19:42:05 CEST 2020

Dear Federico,

Nice to hear from you again! I hope you are doing well.

We in UP CIDS AltDev are interested in your new discussion on Degrowth and
we will definitely buy a copy. But this is not yet available in Wiley-
Singapore, right?

All the best!

Angging

*Ananeza Aban, MCD*
Senior Research Associate
Program on Alternative Development (AltDev)
University of the Philippines | Center for Integrative and Development
Studies
*Ang Bahay ng Alumni, Lower Ground Floor  *
*Magsaysay Ave., UP Diliman, Q.C. 1101  Philippines*
*Tel. nos.:  981-8500 loc. 4266-4267 & 435-9283*
*Tel. fax:  981-8500 loc. 4268 & 426-0955*

*Website: cids.up.edu.ph <http://cids.up.edu.ph>*
*Facebook page: www.facebook.com/upcids*

On Wed, Sep 16, 2020 at 1:24 PM Federico Demaria <federicodemaria at gmail.com>
wrote:

> 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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