The term "degrowth" comes from the French "décroissance", which was used as a provocative slogan in the 2000s. It refers to a lineage of economic thought that goes from Schumacher's Small is Beautiful, through Georgescu, to Lean Economics and Dougnut Economics. One of the best introductions to degrowth is Jason Hickel's [[Reference Notes/Less is More|Less is More]]. Degrowth challenges the ideology of perpetual growth which governs economics today. It suggests that we replace it with an ethic of simplicity, of "small is beautiful", and of living within our social and ecological means. It is a frame through which to view capitalism that is distinct from Marxism, and it's vital to have in our conceptual toolbox. Marx was never critical of technology or work. He elevated work to the highest value. The problem is that under Marxism, there is no necessity to limit the use of technology or of productivity. Under degrowth economics, both these fundamental pillars of our modern economies are questioned: - **Technology** is questioned because it is energetically and materially inefficient and unsustainable. By comparison, [[Nature is frugal]]. If you account for carbon emissions, a scythe-wielding human is more efficient than a lawnmower. If you account for material inputs, a tree is a more efficient converter of solar energy than a solar panel. - **Productivity** is questioned because it leads to exponential growth. When productive capital is used to create more productive capital, then it accelerates the excavation and exhaustion of natural resources. It is like building a bigger straw through which we suck up and consume beyond our means. If we imagine the planet's economy as a satellite, then degrowth is the control system that will allow us to ease the satellite into a sustainable orbit. Degrowth targets the exponential function directly, and seeks to alter its trajectory. Degrowth thinkers represent a distinct category of solutions, ones that question various features of our monetary system - such as interest and universal convertibility. Marxism doesn't question the monetary or banking system. Marx believed in central banks, but differed from capitalists in believing that central banks ought to be owned by the state. It might be joked that these days capitalists would agree with Marx that the state should be allowed to own banks, but only after they've gone bust and must be bailed out by taxpayers. Whereas Marx focused on the value of labour, degrowth focuses on flows of energy. Degrowth uses the principle that a system must generate more energy than it consumes. All energy on earth stems from the sun. Only plants and a few insects are able to convert this solar energy into molecules that other living things can metabolise. Nature is our best source of energy, and we are destroying it. If we are to mobilise labour towards specific objectives, then those objectives must be guided by a degrowth navigation system. There must be teams of scientists, thinkers, artists, engineers, and social organisers that understand the principles of degrowth and disseminate those principles through systems of language, metaphor, art, culture, and science.