Much of our world is organized around the imperative of economic growth, so much so that we’ve come to believe in it, as something above reproach entirely. Yet, widening global inequalities and rising ecological catastrophes are telling us to question the desirability and viability of further economic growth in rich nations, the Netherlands included, and follow a vision beyond growth instead.
This research project and book entitled Living Living Well on a Finite Planet – Building a Caring World Beyond Growth, is our contribution to the developing intellectual tradition of Degrowth. In the book, we explore what a degrowth transformation could mean for how we think about health and organize care. Based on our fieldwork to caring citizens collectives in the Netherlands, we show that degrowth is already in the making at the interstices of its growthist capitalist regime. What can we learn from these caring commoning dynamics as we shape the future of health and care beyond growth? And what policies would be needed to structurally support and strengthen these caring infrastructures?
Run time:
January 2021 – November 2021
Project lead: Winne van Woerden
Publication: Living Well on a Finite Planet, Building a Caring World Beyond Growth
Related talks:
Book launch at Fearless Cities Conference, Barcelona, July 2021
Presentation at ISEE-ESEE Conference “Building Alternative Livelihoods in times of ecological and
political crisis” (International and European Society for Ecological Economics), Manchester, July 2021
Presentation 8th International Degrowth Conference “Caring Communities for
Radical Change”, The Hague, August 2021
Presentation at Be-Cause International Conference “Climate Justice & Health Equity”, Antwerp, November 2021
Presentation at XIV ESEE Conference “Will Achilles catch up with the Turtoise?”, Pisa, June 2022
Presentation at summer school “Global Health between ethics and economisation”, Berlin, July 2022
Podcast “Een bloeiende samenleving heeft geen economische groei”, Het Redelijke Midden, February 2022
Podcast “Stoppen met Groeien met Winne van Woerden”, Ecosofie Podcast, October 2022
Related blogs:
Degrowth: Building a New Discourse of Health and Care
Degrowth and Health: Caring as an Ethic of Non-Exploitation
Degrowth, Health and Commoning Practices
What is commoning and why is it so important?
‘Wanted for Planetary Health: A degrowth transformation rooted in caring commoning practices (External publication on Resilience.com)
Launching our new series “Debunking Degrowth Myths”
‘We can decouple economic growth from ecological impact’ and other myths
‘We need growth because otherwise our economies will collapse’ and other myths
‘We need growth to fund the energy transition’ and other myths