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   Emeritus Prof Christopher May (chrismayla6@zirk.us)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Oct-2024 15:24:48 JST Emeritus Prof Christopher May

   There's a lot of interest in degrowth across Mastodon, so you might be interested in Larry Elloitt's discussion of is 'image problem'....

   However, Elliott himself is at best a 'critical friend' & at worst a sceptic about the value of degrowth... however, his discussion about how countries that have yet to gain the benefits of growth might be sceptical of calls for degrowth confirms the key difficulty with a global degrowth strategy; persistent inequality!

   #degrowth

   https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/oct/20/degrowth-image-problem-solve-planet-climate

   • Embed this notice
     pettter (pettter@mastodon.acc.umu.se)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Oct-2024 15:25:49 JST pettter

     in reply to

     @ChrisMayLA6 I don't think I've seen a lot of degrowth advocates who don't also pair it with global inequality reduction and, indeed, 'growth' in overexploited regions.

   • Embed this notice
     pettter (pettter@mastodon.acc.umu.se)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Oct-2024 15:35:39 JST pettter

     in reply to

     @ChrisMayLA6 Not necessarily - I don't see in the article that he claims that degrowthers are actually claiming this, just that it is part of the 'image problem'. I'd contend that that image is indeed the result of PR campaigns from growth advocates, rather than what degrowth advocates actually say, but that it's very real. However, he still doesn't seriously engage with work such as Jason Hickels on Decent Living Standards for example. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2452292924000493

   • Embed this notice
     Emeritus Prof Christopher May (chrismayla6@zirk.us)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Oct-2024 15:35:40 JST Emeritus Prof Christopher May

     in reply to

     • pettter

     @pettter

     So, you think Elliott is putting up a straw man?

     I ask, because, nowadays I am seldom in discussion with degrowth folk in person & only see the abbreviated positions taken here.....

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     Jonathan Schofield (urlyman@mastodon.social)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Oct-2024 17:55:27 JST Jonathan Schofield

     in reply to

     • pettter

     @pettter I would love degrowth to be possible as an actual strategy at the level of the state.

     My fear is that that is thermodynamically improbable https://mastodon.social/@urlyman/112500670860562086

     But on the level of individuals (in WEIRD states) it is not only possible but *vital*, and that can only make new possibilities more legible https://mastodon.social/@urlyman/113338897455453605

     @ChrisMayLA6

   • Embed this notice
     pettter (pettter@mastodon.acc.umu.se)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Oct-2024 17:55:27 JST pettter

     in reply to

     • Jonathan Schofield

     @urlyman @ChrisMayLA6 It has nothing to do with thermodynamics and everything to do with capitalism.

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     pettter (pettter@mastodon.acc.umu.se)'s status on Tuesday, 22-Oct-2024 17:58:52 JST pettter

     in reply to

     • Jonathan Schofield

     @urlyman @ChrisMayLA6 Also, consumer buying power is at such a miserably low level that whether or not you consume some specific good has very little do with whether it gets produced. Empty planes flew back and forth all through the pandemic. New, never worn clothes get dumped en masse in deserts and river deltas. AI tech firms build new fossil fuel plants to power features that no one wants and no one pays for, on the off chance that they get a monopoly of some sort that they can exploit.