Introduction
The Degrowth Network Australia (DNA) have been exploring pathways for transforming everyday practices to meet our human needs while also respecting our planetary boundaries. This article outlines some of the lessons shared along the way, with links to full printable zines for further reading and sharing.
In a world marked by crises and inequality, we believe we need a lot more discussion, collective organising and action to critique the growth economy and demonstrate alternatives. – Degrowth Network Australia
What is the Degrowth Movement?
There are many introductions to the international Degrowth movement, each offering a different perspective. For example, one introductory zine includes a detailed account of how the concept of degrowth and associated practices emerged in response to growth-based economic contributions to inequities and unsustainable systems of production and consumption. Another zine offers an illustrated introduction to a selection of key characteristics associated with the current Degrowth movement.
The following zines offer three additional entry-points: an overview of the motivations behind the Degrowth movement; a potential degrowth pathway for Australia through climate change; and practical examples of how participating in local Degrowth actions can contribute to global movements for climate justice.
Introducing Degrowth
This introduction outlines the growing international movement of Degrowth, and urges Australians to participate in local adaptations towards sustainable consumption that help change the global system to support a better life for all.
We need Degrowth of material and energy use so we can enjoy growth of communities, health, equality and justice. Plus, inner growth: values, relationships, self-reliance, self-respect, calm, joy – a shift from external gratification to internal. And of course, growth of life: in gardens, farms and natural areas. The changes needed are radical but achievable…. Now is the time to focus on global justice, on resilience, disaster readiness, and adaptation rather than on short-term profits.
Climate Change: The Degrowth Approach
Focusing on the details, this introduction draws attention to the role of Australia’s reliance on fossil fuels in contributing to the impacts of climate-change. It also argues for collective action to rapidly transition away from fossil-fuel dependence and towards more stable localised economies that distribute resources equitably.
The main reason for global warming is the burning of fossil fuels… Australia is one of the highest producers of carbon emissions per capita (per person) [and] are responsible for 3.6% of global emissions through our exports... We would like to see a very quick transition out of fossil fuels [via a] radical redistribution of wealth to allow people to carry on in a shrunken economy.
Everyone has a Role in Degrowth
A short zine introducing some of the different roles that contribute to community-building practices within the Degrowth movement. These include roles that contribute to modelling individual change, advocating for systems-change at all levels of governance, and/or contributing to collective resilience by practising commoning.
This zine is focused on community building. This is largely done through commoning. It is difficult to inspire community action without personal action, and to be widely effective without systemic change also taking place. Perhaps, to thrive locally, we need to work on all three.
Practical Tips for Living Sufficiently
There are many everyday ways to participate in the degrowth movement include transitioning towards living sufficiently by sharing resources to meet our everyday needs and modest comforts. Living sufficiently can also open up opportunities for contributing to community organising for broader systemic changes. The zines below offer practical tips for sharing housing, being more intentional in when and how we travel, and reducing our dependence on the growth-based economy by supporting each other to build alternatives.
Sharing Where We Live: a Guide
This zine offers lessons for sharing living spaces, including practical tips for communicating wants and needs, forming agreements, navigating conflicts, and lowering costs. While some sections focus on intentional sharehousing contexts (e.g., ‘A letter to someone who has never shared housing’), there is also list of resources on different ways to share where we live. By positioning sharehousing as an approach to degrowth, this zine also highlights how the skills learned through living together can help us navigate sharing resources within our broader communities in increasingly uncertain times.
Currently most people see their future security as dependent on how much money they have or have access to. A potentially more sustainable way of looking at security for the future is ‘do you have a resilient community’ and ‘do you have the skills and mental resilience to be ok in an uncertain future’?
Degrowth Tourism Down Under
An illustrated set of examples of the many different ways to restore connection without buying into the consumerism that fuels individualistic corporate tourism.
Why And How To Be Less Employed …. to Fight for Political Change
A booklet filled with prompts for reflecting on individual patterns of consumption, and discussing options for reducing reliance on income from capitalist work and creating time and agency to participate in communities doing meaningful system change work. It also includes examples of the ideas these discussion prompts generated in workshops, and a collection of further resources.
Living without money, [or less money], and living sustainably, becomes a lot more realistic if we think of things as community resources rather than private possessions – we don’t need to each own one of everything.
Connecting Local and Global Transformations
Focusing on the Australian context, the following zines highlight some of the local actions that can contribute to global transformations towards more just futures – including reducing consumption, resisting the growth-driven industries destroying our future possibilities, and to building more resilient communities. These zines also offer a starting-point for participating in discussions around how we can begin imagining innovative futures that don’t perpetuate destructive expectations of economic growth.
Consumerism: Causes and Cures
One of the key demands of the Degrowth movement is for those of us in rich countries to reduce unnecessary consumption and live comfortable lives in ways that don’t rely on extractive exploitation of others. This zine outlines how practices like ‘planned obsolescence’ and expectations of ‘globalisation’ perpetuate an expectation of convenient consumption that disconnect us from each other and the environments we are part of.
We really need a different kind of economy. Where it is okay to have enough and live a comfortable life. Without growth… Where we use less stuff, and it lasts a lot longer. Where we make most of what we use locally, using local materials. Avoiding environmental catastrophes.
Why Fast Fashion Happens & What to Do About It
Focusing on fast fashion as one of the most direct forms of unsustainable consumption for individuals, this zine offers a short introduction to how we can contribute to building more sustainable economies by finding ways to look good, without the environmental and social costs we currently accept from fast-fashion.
It all makes sense up to a point. Work is boring. Life is difficult. New clothes are fun. The less they cost, the more you want to buy. The average Australian buys 56 new items of clothing every year! At an average cost of $13 per item. But nothing without consequences.
Thirsty Industries Growing Beyond Our Capacity – Data Centres
Broadening the scope to those industries growing profits from our expectations of convenient consumption, we find more layers of unsustainable extraction. This zine explore the environmental and costs emerging from the rush to build data centres to service generative-AI driven industries. In addition to a likely reliance on fossil fuels and further draining our limited water supplies, these costs include disruptions to long-standing efforts to house the homeless, reduce inequality, and improve wellness for all.
The forecasts suggest that energy demand from data centres would require supply equivalent to several new coal fired power stations, and that this would be 24/7, implying that it cannot be
conducted in conjunction with our significant solar peak times alone. Given the slow progress in implementing wind power [in Australia], this power demand will be met by coal power overnight. Rather than reducing power use, this will grow energy intensity, and until renewable sources take over, this is directly contributing to the climate disasters we are seeing.
Technology is Not the Answer
Responding to the marketing campaign for green capitalism, this zine outlines how the promise of a 100% transition to renewable is being used to by keep us in a holding pattern of capitalist extraction rather than building the infrastructures for we actually need to drastically reduce global energy use.
By delaying action now, we are lining ourselves up for chaos and catastrophe later… We need a strategy that starts now to drastically reduce energy use in the rich countries.
Explore Further
Participating in Degrowth
- Degrowth as a Concept and Practice: Introduction by Antria Neslon 2024
- Degrowth Festival Resources
- Degrowth episode on the Paradigm Shift podcast.
Degrowth in Context
- Cosmo-local Work: Using Commons Based Practices for Equitable and Sustainable Living
- Alternatives and Futures: Cultures, Practices, Activism and Utopias Series
- Prefigurative Politics in Practice
- Reset Reading Group: A New Economy
- Climate Change and the Affordability Crisis in the Global North – Zine and Report
- Resilience Based Organizing
- Propagate, Pollinate, Practice: Curriculum Tools for a Just Transition
- The Radical History of Unemployed Activism
- Climate Activism: Start Here
Live simply so that others may simply live – Mahatma Gandhi