The book’s subtitle is: the economics of degrowth. This sets the tone for the entire book.
For the author, economic growth only benefits the richest: one only has to look at the persistence of the number of poor people. Inequalities are creating significant gaps for the poorest. Moreover, the wealthy are the source of the most pollution.
A sentence from the author sums up his point: “degrowth, as a reduction in production and consumption to alleviate the ecological footprint, planned democratically in a spirit of social justice and in the interest of well-being”
Is GDP the only important thing? It is neither more nor less than an “economic agitation” that does not take into account other factors such as human well-being or happiness. Well-being is not necessarily linked to changes in GDP. We must escape this “tyranny” of GDP.
Currently, the race to improve labor productivity in order to increase growth is a goal that we must constantly try to achieve, at the expense of the environmental damage to ecosystems.
Does economic growth reduce inequality? This is not accurate. It all depends on the distribution of this growth between wages and capital income.
What do the proponents of degrowth propose? A shift towards sustainable degrowth, which would lead to a harmonious society. It means slowing down economic flows and turning to more sober and frugal lifestyles. The state should be the driver of this process, together with the representatives of the people. The goal would be to respect social justice by providing well-being, while respecting the balance of ecosystems.
Any productivity gains would be oriented towards the well-being of workers: for example, by reducing working time.
Suffice to say, this theory of degrowth generates a lot of criticism about its realism and how to achieve it.
Indeed, what would happen to a country that adopted this new way of life, in a globalized environment? Wouldn’t it risk being marginalized, with disastrous consequences for its economic situation: capital flight and economic balances disrupted?
It is up to each individual to form their own opinion after reading this well-documented and clear book.
Timothée Parrique is a researcher in ecological economics at Lund University in Sweden.
review by Renzo Borsato
