Economy of Degrowth: Theories and Perspectives

Michele Castaldo Introduction The concept of growth has always been presented with a positive meaning. In policy making it is a means to assure stability, socially desirable effects and accumulation of wealth. In political economy, growth is a tool to attract foreing investments, to reach full employment and break- even (or surplus) in public budget. In public speechs “growth” is always mentioned as something desirable and essential. The success of an economic policy is measured basing on the positive effect on GDP , production, consumption and so on. The general tendency in world society is to associate the term growth with other terms like development, well-beiing, success, and happiness. In this period of crisis, where crisis basically means negative growth, many countries are facing several social problems like unemployment, crisis of small medium entreprises, public debt and so on. This situation has enforced the belief that growth is the pillar of a healthy economy without which the system would collapse. The question that many economists are working on is whether growth can be unlimited in a planet which is, with no doubt, not infinite. If the answer to the question is no, the second issue is to consider whether the economic system can prescind from the system of growth, i.e. if it possible to conceive a different model able to assure equilibrium. The object of this paper is to try to answer these questions referring to a new model in which many ideas have been collected under the term economy of degrowth. The first chapter presents a whole series of arguments which find in the economy of growth the responsible for the modern economic failure and which see the crisis as an opportunity to change. The main argument is that the economy of massive exploitation has generated several environmental problems and it is necessary to slow down the economy. Second chapter illustrates a series of alternatives and reforms in different social spheres which can be associated to the slogan “degrowth”. Degrowth consists in a set of guidelines which are concerned with different spheres (economic, social, political) but follows a common pattern of ideas which support and integrate each others. It is important to consider these reforms as a whole because giving up the system of growth requires changes and interventions in different contexts. 4