1. Degrowth and Green New Deal

With more and more studies revealing the implausibility of “green growth”, degrowth postulates have been entering wider public debate. Degrowth points to the necessity of a planned and just reduction of matter and energy throughput to such levels that, on the one hand, stay within planetary boundaries and, on the other, enable a “good life” for everyone. But it is still rare to find this problem recognized in public policies. Various types of Green New Deals (GNDs) – e.g. the European Green Deal – fail not only to mention the necessity of controlled throughput reduction but even to reduce current growth rates. At the same time, the majority of degrowth implementations are still local or niche-based, and consequently without much influence on global economic processes that GNDs will definitely have.

Therefore, in this session we would like to try and answer the following questions: how can degrowth and postgrowth postulates enter local, national or European transformation-related policies (such as GNDs)? What concepts or theories can help us explain how these postulates can be promoted and implemented? Are degrowth implementations doomed to occupy niches only, as some skeptics claim? And, given the current lack of political support for degrowth, is possible to advance its postulates in other ways that could pave the way for their wider adoption in the future?

2. Postgrowth and heterodox economics

Various aspects of postgrowth and degrowth have been studied in recent decades within the field of heterodox economics. These are, among others, giving up on GDP as a growth indicator but also a driving force behind growth, revealing inequalities embedded in contemporary economies, positive and negative externalities, privatization of profits and public or common goods, marginalization and devaluation of non-paid work, generating consumers’ demand by market-based innovations, feedbacks between cultural and market valuation, experience economy, commons-based economy or the complexity and pluralism of economic and cultural analyses. These are some exemplary topics from heterodox economics that could help in operationalizing or designing postgrowth postulates. At the same time, heterodox economies could find inspiration and additional motivation in the warning about possible collapse provided by various postgrowth strands.

How can, therefore, the work of heterodox economists help in developing postgrowth economies and concepts? And how can they verify the postulates of degrowth and postgrowth? What are the barriers faced by the operationalizations of heterodox economies and postgrowth concepts? To what extent does the operationalization and design of solutions help in strengthening various concepts gathered under the umbrella of ‘postgrowth’?

3. Other aspects of degrowth

Degrowth is a scientific concept, a social movement and a political slogan. It is a broad and multi-faceted vision of transformation that goes beyond the ‘ecological’ aspect into a deeper reflection about what ‘development’ or ‘prosperity’ means. Development conceived as further expansion, domination and growth not only transgresses planetary boundaries but also undermines our individual and communal well-being. Therefore, degrowth points to alternative understandings of development: well-being, resilience, health, high quality of life, vibrant relationships, time for the loved ones (and for oneself to develop one’s passions), satisfaction from being embedded in healthy and vibrant Nature, respect for other forms of life, social justice or mutual care. Hence, we invite you to submit proposals that would reflect on degrowth in its variety by adopting social, cultural, environmental, economic, political, historical – or multiple – perspectives. This will help in structuring and enriching the debate about the “good life” in the growth-free future, which is so much needed today.

Topics related to cities are rarely discussed in postgrowth and degrowth literature and usually have anti-urban connotations. At the same time they should not be omitted in any discussion on socio-economic transformations. Cities are home for the most (and still increasing) part of the world population, they are places of production, consumption, and growth. New ideas are appearing in cities, including those on degrowth, and key decisions are being taken. For that reason we dedicate the whole conference block to cities. The key question in this context is how to implement degrowth in cities? What actions should be taken and what instruments should be used to make what now appears to be a utopia, and what is thus being automatically rejected by many, an attractive vision and after all a reality?

We strongly encourage to participate in the conference also persons who have not dealt with the topics of post- and degrowth so far, but whose considerations fit into the theme of prosperity without growth.

During the “Urban transformations” block we propose to discuss the following issues:

1. Transfer and creation of knowledge on transformation for reducing the ecological footprint. Are local governments interested and competent in using the knowledge on necessary pro-climate transformation? To what extend are they capable of recognizing and sustainable using of local social and cultural resources?

2. Strategic and spatial planning as instruments for transformation. Local governments have core competences regarding local development planning in its every dimension, as well as ways of area management along with its ecosystems. To what extent their causative potential is and can be used to support the postgrowth, pro-climate, and pro-environmental transformation? What role can be played by strategic and spatial planning in the promotion of degrowth models of local development? Can we imagine spatial management the aim of which would not be stimulation of economic growth?

3. Creation of friendly conditions for grassroots activities for transformation. Do the decisions concerning public and common spaces favour the bottom-up actions? When can they cause exclusions and gentrification? Are local governments able to utilize the grassroots activity as a resource?

4. Local public services and practices of commoning. What is the importance of public goods and services, such as public transport, municipal housing or urban land, for degrowth and pro-climate transformation? What is and what could be the role of the commons in these processes, along with the practices of sharing and commoning?

5. Visions, utopias, operationalizations. Can we imagine urban life in accordance with the degrowth postulates? If yes, then how such life could look like? How to operationalize “urban degrowth”, what theories and practices would facilitate this process?

1. Disaster and commercial marketing

A substantial share of post-growth concepts envisage lifestyle and consumption changes, co-operation, as well as producer and consumer responsibility. These changes cannot be implemented without a transformation of commercial marketing which shapes product design and brand image and without linking it to consumer preferences and the ways product demand is generated, including a complete elimination of the impact of commercial marketing on the circulation of products and services.

How to gauge marketing’s environmental footprint? Can reducing this footprint be profit-neutral for businesses? How do we assess cases of creating product value through building a green image? Is a pro-climate critique of marketing campaigns possible? In what situations and under what conditions should marketing campaigns be regulated for environmental reasons? How imperfect are packaging regulations?

2. Katastrofa i marketing społeczny
Z drugiej strony proklimatyczny marketing społeczny pozostaje zdecydowanie mniej skuteczny i to nie tylko z powodu nieporównywalnie mniejszych środków finansowymych niż w przypadku jego komercyjnego odpowiednika. W jaki sposób można zwiększyć skuteczność społecznego marketingu proklimatycznego? Do jakich emocji, wartości, postaw powinien się odnosić? Jakie wartości, postawy i praktyki powinien promować? Jakie kulturowe i psychologiczne mechanizmy wykorzystują społeczne kampanie proklimatyczne? Jak możemy mierzyć ich skuteczność? Jak uprawiać krytykę kampanii proklimatycznych? Jak oceniamy przypadki kampanii hybrydowych: jednocześnie komercyjnych i społecznych?

3. The catastrophe, transformation and communication

Acting against climate catastrophe requires not only a change of economic structures, but also deep changes of attitudes and lifestyles as well as the awareness of global interdependencies. In what way facts concerning the current state of the catastrophe and the necessity of change are communicated?

On what depends the reference to pro-climate issues in social communication and which tools are at our disposal to spread information about them?

Does the proposition of far-reaching economical and cultural transformations that could stem the pressure on nature, and do conceptions that deeply interfere in the system, such as degrowth, have a chance to appear in a broader, public debate? In what way and how can they reach above an alternative „niche”—with regard to communication as well as to acting? How helpful is theoretical analysis and empirical research for working out new strategies?