Global Journal of Human Social Science, E: Economics, Volume 21 Issue 5

I. D e- G rowth: A H istorical and T heoretical R eview The concept of de-growth is broad, therefore, difficult to be explained in a few words. In fact, according to Latouche (2012), de-growth is not a concept in itself, nor is it the opposite of growth. De- growth is a kind of political slogan, which emphasizes the importance of abandoning the search for growth as the ultimate goa l 4 The idea of de-growth recognizes that there are limits to the use of natural resources. Furthermore, its advocates are skeptical about the possibility of technology being able to universalize the consumption pattern of rich countries. If there are not enough resources for everyone to maintain a standard of living in the style of developed countries and no technology capable of doing it, then would the solution be a reduction in the world population? This reasoning has led many to accuse degrowth of being Malthusian. Bayon et al. (2011) refute this accusation by stating that the uncontrolled population increase is indeed a problem, but its regulation should be democratic, mainly through people's awareness and not in the way Malthus proposed it. . In other words, de-growth is not an alternative, but a set of alternatives that challenge the society whose main objective is growth as an end in itself. This society is neither sustainable nor desirable. De-growth gathers those who consider it essential to reduce the physical dimension of the economic system and can be defined in different ways, given the different currents of thought and approaches that use it to criticize the pattern of development based on economic growth. It can also be seen as a concept whose purpose is to break the consensus of the consumerist imagination, denouncing the false freedom and happiness that are sold through advertising. In short, what de-growth has in common in these different approaches is the idea of “consuming less to live better”. (BAYON, FLIPO, SCHNEIDER, 2011). 5 Latouche (2009) states that de-growth society project is the only option capable of avoiding an ecological and human catastrophe. This catastrophe will happen, if we don't change in time, due to the incessant search for growth. To change the current society the main target would then be consumerism. But, on the contrary, current society's efforts are aimed at stimulating consumption. Among these, the main ones are credit and advertising. Advertising creates desires in consumers and encourages them to renew their 4 The central point of degrowth is found in the critique of development, specifically through the “inversion of perspective with which the phenomenon of poverty and exclusion is read”. (BONAIUTI, 2012, p.88). 5 Latouche (2009) does not see overcrowding as the problem. The question is: knowing how to share resources in an equitable and ethical way. manufactured goods, even if they are still in perfect conditions of use. On the other hand, credit is what allows the consumer's desires to be satisfied, even if their income is already compromised, that is, credit allows the expansion of consumption capacity. Both advertising, which encourages insatiability for industrialized products, and programmed obsolescence, whose mechanisms lead to a compulsory expansion in consumption, create the disposable culture. Obsolescence provides less longevity for so-called durable goods, as well as promoting the creation of components, software and parts that are incompatible between different models and different brands, with a single objective: to increase (or minimally maintain) the level of consumption . 6 According to Latouche (2009) de-growth is a concrete and revolutionary utopia. The consequences, however, are, on the one hand, an increase in the use of natural resources and, on the other, an increase in the amount of pollutants and waste arising from both the production of new goods and disposal of the old ones. 7 (i). Reassess: changing society's values to face current challenges; Its concrete proposals are outlined in the "vicious circle" of serene de-growth, represented by eight interdependent changes, namely: (ii). Re-conceptualize: changing values leads to another way of apprehending reality; (iii). Restructuring : adapting the productive apparatus and social relations in terms of changing values; (iv). Redistribute: distributing wealth and to granting access to natural heritage; (v). Relocate: producing locally, as far as possible, products intended to meet the needs of the population; (vi). Reduce: reducing the impact on the biosphere of our ways of consuming and producing, that is, reducing our ecological footprint; (vii). Reuse: reducing programmed obsolescence; (viii). Recycle: recycling what cannot be directly reused. However, as Latouche (2009) argues, de- growth does not have a robust political program and needs great support from the population to: reduce the ecological footprint and energy waste, reduce 6 According to Löwy (2009), the problem is not excessive consumption by the population (as ecologists argue), nor is the solution a general reduction in consumption, especially in more developed countries. The problem is the way in which current consumption takes place, based on waste, ostentation, obsession with accumulation and mercantile alienation. The solution, therefore, is to end consumption based on these conditions. 7 “The degrowth project is therefore a utopia, that is, a source of hope and dream. However, far from taking refuge in the unreal, it tries to explore the objective possibilities of its application. Hence the term “concrete utopia”. (LATOUCHE, 2009, p.40). 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