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

Trainer (2010, pg.11) summarizes what then would be the nature of the capitalist system and how it is fundamentally based on the logic of growth and accumulation: “Capitalism is by definition about growth. Its essential characteristic is the investment of capital in order to make as much profit as possible, to re-invest next year in order to make as much profit as possible... in a never ending spiral of capital accumulation”. The key to the incompatibility between de- growth and capitalism would therefore lie in the fact that growth would be an inescapable consequence of the market system, as one enters into it with the intention of maximizing, selling at the highest price, buying at the lowest, investing in sectors in that the rates of return are more attractive, in other words, seeking the highest possible valuation. In this way, according to Trainer (2010), in the market there is either growth or death, since all the others who participate in it use this same logic. III. C oncluding R emarks Considering the recent nature of the concept of de-growth, the purpose of this article was to carry out a literature review, trying to explain the fundamental structure and the main proposals of the degrowth program, in addition to presenting the most relevant critical arguments in relation to this approach. What stands out, first, is the broad character of the concept (or political slogan) of degrowth, which intends to lessen the importance and indispensability of the objective of growth in contemporary capitalist society. The proposal would therefore be to resize the economic system in order to make it “fit” within the limits set by the terrestrial ecosystem. This proposal, however, due to its comprehensive and abstract nature, ends up being the target of several criticisms regarding its own internal consistency - Impossibility of analyzing the qualitative aspects of growth, the regional and fragmented character of the analysis and the generic application of the program for advanced countries and underdeveloped – and, mainly, regarding the possibility of implementing this proposed type in a system whose fundamental gear would be accumulation or economic growth. In summary, the most relevant critical arguments seem to indicate a contradiction in the formulation of the de-growth concept, since: i) the reduction in growth, in a growing economy, would have perverse effects; ii) therefore, de-growth should only be considered in a de-growth society; iii) however, the concrete measures of de-growth end up generating a reduction in growth, causing the negative effects warned by the author, since today's society is a society of consumption, of growth. Thus, the need to advance in the construction of the idea of de-growth seems evident, strengthening the internal structure of this conception and evaluating the effectiveness of implementing such a program in a capitalist production system. B ibliography 1. BAYON, Denis; FLIPO, Fabrice; SCHNEIDER, François. Decrecimiento: 10 preguntas para comprenderlo y debatirlo. Mataró: Ediciones de interveción cultural/El Viejo Topo, 2011. 2. BERGH, J. C. J. M. VAN DEN; KALLIS, G. Growth, a-growth or degrowth to stay within planetary boundaries? Journal of Economic Issues, v. 46, n. 4, p. 909–920, 2012. 3. BONAIUTI, M. A caminho da grande transição. In: LÉNA, P.; Nascimento, E. P. (Orgs.). Enfrentando os limites do crescimento: sustentabilidade, decrescimento e prosperidade. Rio de Janeiro: Garamond, 2012. 4. CECHIN, A; VEIGA, J. E. O fundamento central da economia ecológica. Economia do meio ambiente: teoria e prática, v. 2, p. 33-48, 2010. 5. DALY, H. E. The Economics of the Steady State. The American Economic Review, v. 64, n. 2, p. 15–21, 1974. 6. FOSTER, J. B. Capitalisim and Degrowth: an impossibility theorem. Monthily Review Volume 62, Issue 08 (January), 2011. 7. KERSCHNER, C. Economic de-growth vs. steady- state economy. Journal of Cleaner Production, v. 18, n. 6, p. 544–551, 2010. 8. LATOUCHE, S. Pequeno tratado do decrescimento sereno. São Paulo: Editora WMF Martins Fontes, 2009. 9. _____________. O decrescimento. Por que e como? In: LÉNA, P.; Nascimento, E. P. (Orgs.). Enfrentando os limites do crescimento: sustentabilidade, decrescimento e prosperidade. Rio de Janeiro: Garamond, 2012. 10. LÉNA, P. Os limites do crescimento econômico e a busca pela sustentabilidade: uma introdução ao debate. In: LÉNA, P.; Nascimento, E. P. (Orgs.). Enfrentando os limites do crescimento: sustentabilidade, decrescimento e prosperidade. Rio de Janeiro: Garamond, 2012. 11. LÖWY, M. Crise ecológica, capitalismo, altermundialismo: um ponto de vista ecossocialista. Revista de Gestão Integrada em Saúde do Trabalho e Meio Ambiente, v. 4, n. 3, set./dez. 2009. 12. MARTÍNEZ-ALIER, J. et al. Sustainable de-growth: Mapping the context, criticisms and future prospects of an emergent paradigm. Ecological Economics, v. 69, n. 9, p. 1741–1747, 2010. 13. RIST, G. O decrescimento para todos? In: LÉNA, P.; Nascimento, E. P. (Orgs.). Enfrentando os limites do Volume XXI Issue V Version I 54 ( E ) Global Journal of Human Social Science - Year 2021 © 2021 Global Journals Economic De-Growth: A Theoretical and Critical Review