A fundamental contradiction has emerged between our global capitalist economy, oriented toward economic growth, and the planetary boundaries capable of sustaining human and other life. While economic growth is infinite in theory, the planet is materially finite. Political leaders, banks, investors, and other decision-makers have bet the future on the prospects of “green growth,” but the question of whether or not “growth” is a good in itself is often left unasked. Degrowth, a conversation made up of scholars, activists, students, farmers, and others, argues that in order to stop the climate crisis and achieve global equality, economies in the Global North must move away from paradigms premised on growth. Rather than arguing our problems are the result of too many people or too few resources, degrowth advocates explain that the way we have organized society for capital accumulation is keeping us all from living better lives. Drawing from diverse fields such as ecological economics, Marxism, feminism, antiracism, and more, degrowth has launched an eclectic criticism of growth and offered proposals for an alternative world. In this course, we will discuss the main ideas behind degrowth and explore the potential contributions that liberation theology might make to degrowth movements and discourses.
(ICS 122903/222903)
Online Intensive
July 14 - August 20
(Mondays and Wednesdays)
(MA-PhD)
To register for this course, email academic-registrar@icscanada.edu or complete a Google Form. (Note that the first class for this course takes place on July 14). Maximum enrolment of twelve (12) students. ICS reserves the right to decline registrations.