To survive, we must tear ourselves free from the system devouring the Earth. Radical commitment to degrowth requires our blood, our bodies, and the willingness to sacrifice everything to survive.
Outstanding, Margi. Thank you for these impassioned words. As the neoliberal order rolls out its final assault, I expect people will become incentivized to act in the interests of their own survival. Those that see the greater truth and power, the limits and devastation of the planet will be fewer, but perhaps this existential crisis will become an opportunity to educate about the absolute need to adopt a degrowth world. Most I am certain have never even heard of the concept. It's the only viable path forward, and a tragically compromised on by delay and evil. https://geoffreydeihl.substack.com/p/degrowth-the-vision-we-must-demand
It may be time for me to write about degrowth again. None of this is about right or left, that's an invention. Every reasonable human just wants a reasonable life. The system we have has brought us to the abyss. Maybe the hunger for justice can bring more of us together. Thank you for so wonderfully answering my question. You were the only taker, lol.
I'd love it if you did. It's a bit out of my lane. I'd likely not go further than I have here ... but I wanted to give some real-world explanation of what it means to me.
You going deeper would be sensational. There is so much to unpick.
Geoffrey, as usual for moving pieces about the trouble we are in, you the only person deeply into the degrowth idea engaging with someone who is passionate and eloquent on that subject. Where we should be organizing a new world, it’s gadflies all the way down. You know I’m looking to do something about that, with you in a leadership position, so when the time is right please be the hero to everyone that you are to me.
Viewed from the largest perspective, of an evolving universe that includes an evolving humanity, Trump is here to crash the system that vitally needs degrowth, that the Democrats, as bought as the Republicans are, wouldn’t have dealt with. Look at how entrenched we are in our path to doom where we have to come this close to destroying ourselves to even consider rethinking what we are doing.
As usual for moving pieces about the trouble we are in, you the only person who is deeply into the degrowth idea engaging with someone who is passionate and eloquent on that subject. Where we should be organizing a new world, it’s gadflies all the way down. You know I’m looking to do something about that, with you in a leadership position, so when the time is right please be the hero to everyone that you are to me.
There are authors of books certainly more expert than I am on the subject, but the goal of my article was to condense degrowth's essentials to a reasonable length. Just getting the concept into the mainstream is a challenge. Few have heard of it.
Like most of us, my head is swimming from the assault we're experiencing. Something is going to give soon if Trump and Musk put us into a recession or worse and successfully plunder our social safety net. That is their goal, to break everything and use that as leverage to privatize the programs we depend on. This situation could easily devolve into open government violence against we the people. It's already violent in those dying quiet deaths from the demolition of USAID, and the rollback by Zeldin of basic EPA protections that will kill more. Of course, there are endless attacks I could list.
If this situation breaks down into massive civil unrest, we need to have coordinated demands, or even a new platform should governance break down entirely. The ONLY survivable way forward is to reinvent society from one of consumption to one of sustainability. Truly, life could be deeper, more connected and meaningful from an economy based on protecting, healing and nurturing the Earth. Who's happy with this shit show other than the ultra wealthy?
The goons running the show clearly mean to eliminate as many of us as possible as quickly as possible. I saw this reality a few years ago when I wrote Circumstantial Evidence. There is little doubt next months or couple of years are going to be determinative of our future.
Once again beautifully written Margi about this brutal situation we are faced with. Whilst reading your words, a Spanish bullfight came to mind, where there can be seen beauty with the movement of the matador but also horrible brutality. I have never seen a bullfight and never want to.
Once again I can refer to a book I have read that I may have already mentioned: Less is More by Jason Hickel. I've just opened up the book and one word has jumped out - reciprocity!
The naivety of expecting a capitalist system to fix the mess that system created and using the false pretenses of going green will save Mother Earth. WTF. Humans will still be extracting and exploiting for profit. I laugh at the thought that people want to declutter the kitchen cupboard but populated 3 screens on their iPhone with apps. And yes, whilst I am pointing a finger, I have got to remember that I have 3 fingers pointing at myself with 1.5 screens of apps.
I have been thinking more and more about how I would survive in a world requiring a return to all the actions we should take Margi, and it is scary. I just don't have the strength and leadership ability to drive this process. Yes, there are numerous community gardens although some are very, very small, there are farmers/horticulturists growing food for sharing or purchase at local farmers markets, with the conundrum that I have to drive 40 or 70 kms to get to these markets. But as you wrote Margi, the community food garden is only one part of the degrowth economy we need. The thing I grapple with is how to empower the community to realise that being a blacksmith, natural fibre spinner- weaver-knitter, clothing mender, baker or very small-scale abattoir worker is important and extremely worthwhile.
And whilst thinking about the community you are building around where you live Margi, I live with the frustration that whilst there is a Woolworths, Coles or Aldi nearby, then community gardens will always be a small section of the community.
Walt, I remember my bio-dynamic mentor saying to my wife and I way back in 1992 when I started out exploring BD farming and gardening, "It will be the generation of your children teaching us about the importance of looking after the environment".
I grew up with the one finger pointing out, three pointing back lesson. And, as I write these essays I am acutely aware of how much of the system I still actively use and rely upon. Not the least of which is Substack ... to be absolutely honest.
Empowering a community is a tough gig. No question. I am sure there are a thousand roads. The one working for us was born of fire then food, and has grown from there, but I think anything that brings people together to share work, to learn skills, and become familiar with each other is a worthwhile route. But, you are right, while there is convenience and sustenance on tap, few will take the step.
You have mentioned Less is More before ... thank you for the reminder. I'll look it up.
after writing my last reply to you Margi, I re-read the transcript of a conversation between Robin Wall Kimmerer and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee from Emergence Magazine, and it helped me to become calmer and not so "troubled" or frustrated. Visualizing the intention of creating local is better helped emotionally. I know there are pathways and like-minded people reasonably close by.
Walt, I remember my bio-dynamic mentor saying to my wife and I way back in 1992 when I started out exploring BD farming and gardening, "It will be the generation of your children teaching us about the importance of looking after the environment".
How can degrowth increase living standards of workers worldwide? We need to consume more things, not fewer. The problem is exploitation and our ruling class and their states and systems, not consumption.
I fully agree, Kassandra. While its unjust and unfair, the 'living standards of workers worldwide' will never be able to rise and match the rapacious consumption of the wealthy west. They cannot. There is just not enough resource to spread around.
This is why I phrased my statement the way that I did. I said nothing about the standard to which to aspire. This shows me that “degrowth” is emphasizing the wrong thing: Not health and wealth but austerity. Wealth does not need to be “insane”. And “the wealthy west” does not exist, not with a billion slaves driving cars and eating poison. I stand by what I said: most people of the world need to consume more, not less.
I think we are saying the same thing, with different words.
However, even if we were to spread the current rapacious consumption equitably over the entire world's population we are still on a steep fall. We are so far into overshoot now ... even accepting the vast majority of the world's population have nothing to do with it ... that collapse is on the horizon. Humanity can not consume more. The snake is already eating its own tail.
That does not mean that I don't see to gross and gut wrenching injustice of all this. I do. I understand that most people need more—calories, water, safety, healthcare, education, hope—but the scales don't lie. Overshoot is overshoot.
Everyone will have to make do with the tenuous, fraught, and harder life the majority of the world lives with right now.
Beautifully said, Walt.
Outstanding, Margi. Thank you for these impassioned words. As the neoliberal order rolls out its final assault, I expect people will become incentivized to act in the interests of their own survival. Those that see the greater truth and power, the limits and devastation of the planet will be fewer, but perhaps this existential crisis will become an opportunity to educate about the absolute need to adopt a degrowth world. Most I am certain have never even heard of the concept. It's the only viable path forward, and a tragically compromised on by delay and evil. https://geoffreydeihl.substack.com/p/degrowth-the-vision-we-must-demand
Perhaps it will, and all we can do is try.
It may be time for me to write about degrowth again. None of this is about right or left, that's an invention. Every reasonable human just wants a reasonable life. The system we have has brought us to the abyss. Maybe the hunger for justice can bring more of us together. Thank you for so wonderfully answering my question. You were the only taker, lol.
I'd love it if you did. It's a bit out of my lane. I'd likely not go further than I have here ... but I wanted to give some real-world explanation of what it means to me.
You going deeper would be sensational. There is so much to unpick.
Ha. You're brilliant. I doubt much of anything is out of your lane.
Geoffrey, as usual for moving pieces about the trouble we are in, you the only person deeply into the degrowth idea engaging with someone who is passionate and eloquent on that subject. Where we should be organizing a new world, it’s gadflies all the way down. You know I’m looking to do something about that, with you in a leadership position, so when the time is right please be the hero to everyone that you are to me.
Viewed from the largest perspective, of an evolving universe that includes an evolving humanity, Trump is here to crash the system that vitally needs degrowth, that the Democrats, as bought as the Republicans are, wouldn’t have dealt with. Look at how entrenched we are in our path to doom where we have to come this close to destroying ourselves to even consider rethinking what we are doing.
As usual for moving pieces about the trouble we are in, you the only person who is deeply into the degrowth idea engaging with someone who is passionate and eloquent on that subject. Where we should be organizing a new world, it’s gadflies all the way down. You know I’m looking to do something about that, with you in a leadership position, so when the time is right please be the hero to everyone that you are to me.
There are authors of books certainly more expert than I am on the subject, but the goal of my article was to condense degrowth's essentials to a reasonable length. Just getting the concept into the mainstream is a challenge. Few have heard of it.
Like most of us, my head is swimming from the assault we're experiencing. Something is going to give soon if Trump and Musk put us into a recession or worse and successfully plunder our social safety net. That is their goal, to break everything and use that as leverage to privatize the programs we depend on. This situation could easily devolve into open government violence against we the people. It's already violent in those dying quiet deaths from the demolition of USAID, and the rollback by Zeldin of basic EPA protections that will kill more. Of course, there are endless attacks I could list.
If this situation breaks down into massive civil unrest, we need to have coordinated demands, or even a new platform should governance break down entirely. The ONLY survivable way forward is to reinvent society from one of consumption to one of sustainability. Truly, life could be deeper, more connected and meaningful from an economy based on protecting, healing and nurturing the Earth. Who's happy with this shit show other than the ultra wealthy?
The goons running the show clearly mean to eliminate as many of us as possible as quickly as possible. I saw this reality a few years ago when I wrote Circumstantial Evidence. There is little doubt next months or couple of years are going to be determinative of our future.
Once again beautifully written Margi about this brutal situation we are faced with. Whilst reading your words, a Spanish bullfight came to mind, where there can be seen beauty with the movement of the matador but also horrible brutality. I have never seen a bullfight and never want to.
Once again I can refer to a book I have read that I may have already mentioned: Less is More by Jason Hickel. I've just opened up the book and one word has jumped out - reciprocity!
The naivety of expecting a capitalist system to fix the mess that system created and using the false pretenses of going green will save Mother Earth. WTF. Humans will still be extracting and exploiting for profit. I laugh at the thought that people want to declutter the kitchen cupboard but populated 3 screens on their iPhone with apps. And yes, whilst I am pointing a finger, I have got to remember that I have 3 fingers pointing at myself with 1.5 screens of apps.
I have been thinking more and more about how I would survive in a world requiring a return to all the actions we should take Margi, and it is scary. I just don't have the strength and leadership ability to drive this process. Yes, there are numerous community gardens although some are very, very small, there are farmers/horticulturists growing food for sharing or purchase at local farmers markets, with the conundrum that I have to drive 40 or 70 kms to get to these markets. But as you wrote Margi, the community food garden is only one part of the degrowth economy we need. The thing I grapple with is how to empower the community to realise that being a blacksmith, natural fibre spinner- weaver-knitter, clothing mender, baker or very small-scale abattoir worker is important and extremely worthwhile.
And whilst thinking about the community you are building around where you live Margi, I live with the frustration that whilst there is a Woolworths, Coles or Aldi nearby, then community gardens will always be a small section of the community.
Walt, I remember my bio-dynamic mentor saying to my wife and I way back in 1992 when I started out exploring BD farming and gardening, "It will be the generation of your children teaching us about the importance of looking after the environment".
Thank you, Ian. So much.
I grew up with the one finger pointing out, three pointing back lesson. And, as I write these essays I am acutely aware of how much of the system I still actively use and rely upon. Not the least of which is Substack ... to be absolutely honest.
Empowering a community is a tough gig. No question. I am sure there are a thousand roads. The one working for us was born of fire then food, and has grown from there, but I think anything that brings people together to share work, to learn skills, and become familiar with each other is a worthwhile route. But, you are right, while there is convenience and sustenance on tap, few will take the step.
You have mentioned Less is More before ... thank you for the reminder. I'll look it up.
after writing my last reply to you Margi, I re-read the transcript of a conversation between Robin Wall Kimmerer and Emmanuel Vaughan-Lee from Emergence Magazine, and it helped me to become calmer and not so "troubled" or frustrated. Visualizing the intention of creating local is better helped emotionally. I know there are pathways and like-minded people reasonably close by.
Well stated, Margi. If I may add one more important concept to your impassioned pleas, it would be that we need to teach our children, well.
Walt, I remember my bio-dynamic mentor saying to my wife and I way back in 1992 when I started out exploring BD farming and gardening, "It will be the generation of your children teaching us about the importance of looking after the environment".
Powerful stuff, thanks lots.
How can degrowth increase living standards of workers worldwide? We need to consume more things, not fewer. The problem is exploitation and our ruling class and their states and systems, not consumption.
Not so. We can't increase insane living standards. Those times are way past, we are in life threatening overshoot.
I fully agree, Kassandra. While its unjust and unfair, the 'living standards of workers worldwide' will never be able to rise and match the rapacious consumption of the wealthy west. They cannot. There is just not enough resource to spread around.
This is why I phrased my statement the way that I did. I said nothing about the standard to which to aspire. This shows me that “degrowth” is emphasizing the wrong thing: Not health and wealth but austerity. Wealth does not need to be “insane”. And “the wealthy west” does not exist, not with a billion slaves driving cars and eating poison. I stand by what I said: most people of the world need to consume more, not less.
I think we are saying the same thing, with different words.
However, even if we were to spread the current rapacious consumption equitably over the entire world's population we are still on a steep fall. We are so far into overshoot now ... even accepting the vast majority of the world's population have nothing to do with it ... that collapse is on the horizon. Humanity can not consume more. The snake is already eating its own tail.
That does not mean that I don't see to gross and gut wrenching injustice of all this. I do. I understand that most people need more—calories, water, safety, healthcare, education, hope—but the scales don't lie. Overshoot is overshoot.
Everyone will have to make do with the tenuous, fraught, and harder life the majority of the world lives with right now.