Degrowth: A Defence
by Mark Burton and Peter Somerville
Assigned by 1 of the 9 reading lists, catalogue entry only
- Written
- 2019
- Form
- Essay
- Language
- English
- Length
- Short · 20 ppunder 120 pages
- Difficulty
- Demanding3 of 5 for a first-year reader
We recommendNew Left Review 115New Left Review, 2019The essay as first published, with the exchange it belongs to; it is also available free on the journal's site.
These links go straight to Amazon and Bookshop.org and earn this site nothing today. Prices are the same either way. How this works.
An essay in New Left Review answering critics on the left who treat degrowth as a middle class enthusiasm that would condemn the poor to austerity. Burton and Somerville argue that the physical throughput of rich economies cannot keep expanding on a finite planet, that the evidence for decoupling growth from emissions and material use is weak, and that green growth therefore offers no way out. They distinguish degrowth from recession, sketch what a planned contraction of energy and material use would mean for work, provision and welfare, and argue that it is compatible with rising living standards for the poorest.
No reading guide yet
The catalogue entry above is complete: the dates, the form, the themes and every program that assigns Degrowth: A Defence are verified against each program's published list.
What is missing is the part that takes real work: the summary, the key passages, and a recommended translation. The edition named below is the one most programs assign, so the buy links are useful already.