Quartz 4

Degrowth Library

5 min read

Material working group

Meeting 2025-03-16

Discussion topics:

  • What books are available in the library that are related to Degrowth?
    • We found a few ⇒ photos
    • We can look in the catalogue for more targeted suggestions
    • There’s way more than we’d ever need so it would be a process of elimination
  • What topics exist that are related to Degrowth?
    • Capitalism
    • Miljö ekonomi, environmental economics
    • Ekonomisk utveckling, economic development
    • Nerväxt prel?? ⇒ what does that mean? Are they building up a section for it?
    • Hållbar utveckling
  • Are the books available in English or Swedish (or another language)?
    • A lot are available in both languages
    • Haven’t looked for other languages yet
  • Which books can we recommend for people?
    • One that was recommended in the Degrowth subreddit and other websites was Jason Hickel’s Less is more ⇒ they have one copy in the library
  • Which books would we like to request for the library?
  • Could we suggest a reading circle bag for the library?
    • Or a table display thing (sponsored by Degrowth institute)
    • E.g. good one could be Jason Hickel’s Less is more

Material

Collect good articles, books and material that deals with Degrowth topics.

Books

  • The Future is Degrowth: A Guide to a World Beyond Capitalism. Matthias Schmelzer, Andrea Vetter, Aaron Vansintjan. https://degrowth.info/en/library/the-future-is-degrowth-a-guide-to-a-world-beyond-capitalism A handbook and a manifesto, a must-read for all interested in charting a way beyond the current crisis. This book provides a vision for postcapitalism beyond growth. https://www.versobooks.com/products/2620-the-future-is-degrowth More scholarly literature analysis. Critiques of economic growth and the associated tolls of neoliberalism, ultimately developing an argument for degrowth.
  • Becky Chambers: Monk & Robot series - Solarpunk novel.
  • Post-growth living: For an alternative Hedonism. Kate Soper. https://www.versobooks.com/products/929-post-growth-living?pr_prod_strat=e5_desc&pr_rec_id=ca752cffc&pr_rec_pid=6904951144509&pr_ref_pid=6904983224381&pr_seq=uniform Philosopher Kate Soper offers an urgent plea for a new vision of the good life, one that is capable of delinking prosperity from endless growth.
  • Doughnut Economics. Kate Raworth. https://www.penguin.co.uk/books/429710/doughnut-economics-by-kate-raworth/9781847941398 Oxford University economist Kate Raworth offers a new cutting-edge economic model fit for the challenges of the 21st century.
  • Less is more - How degrowth will save the world. Jason Hickel. https://www.jasonhickel.org/less-is-more But what about jobs? What about health? What about progress? This book tackles these questions and offers an inspiring vision for what a post-capitalist economy could look like. An economy that’s more just, more caring, and more fun. An economy that will not only lift us out of our current crisis, but also restore our sense of connection to a world that’s brimming with life. By taking less, we can become more.
  • A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things. A Guide to Capitalism, Nature and the Future of the Planet. Raj Patel & Jason W. Moore. https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1525/9780520966376/html Bringing the latest ecological research together with histories of colonialism, indigenous struggles, slave revolts, and other rebellions and uprisings, Patel and Moore demonstrate that throughout history, crises have always prompted fresh strategies to make the world cheap and safe for capitalism.
  • Kohei Saito - Slow Down. The Degrowth Manifesto . https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/734853/slow-down-by-kohei-saito/
  • Technofeudalism - What killed capitalism. Yanis Varoufakis. Technofeudalism isn’t explicitly about degrowth, but in its attempt to describe the contemporary economic reality—in which capitalism has given way to what former Greek Minister of Finance Yanis Varoufakis calls “technofeudalism”—it operates as a critical text for anyone seeking to understand the challenges degrowth efforts will face in the next quarter century.
  • Limits - Why Malthus was wrong and why environmentalists should care. Giorgos Kallis. https://www.sup.org/books/politics/limits Taking us from ancient Greece to Malthus, from hunter-gatherers to the Romantics, from anarchist feminists to 1970s radical environmentalists, Limits shows us how an institutionalized culture of sharing can make possible the collective self-limitation we so urgently need.
  • Utopia for realists - How we can build the ideal world. Rutger Bregman. https://rutgerbregman.com/books/utopia-for-realists Written in an accessible voice that demonstrates how so-called unrealistic “utopian” ideas like the 15-hour work week or the elimination of poverty actually could happen in our lifetimes.
  • Half-Earth Socialism. Troy Vettese and Drew Pendergrass. https://www.versobooks.com/products/2650-half-earth-socialism A plan to save the earth and bring the good life to all. Half-Earth Socialism is a radical call to action to save the planet, including trenchant proposals to rewild half the earth to absorb carbon emissions and restore biodiversity; rapidly transition to renewable energy, paired with drastic cuts in consumption; and shift to global veganism to reduce energy and land use. As this thrilling and provocative book makes clear, we must humbly accept that humanity cannot fully understand or control the earth — but we can plan new energy systems, large-scale rewilding, and food production for the common good.

Articles (pop-sci) & Blogs

Articles (academic)

Websites

Graph View

Backlinks