Post-Growth: An alternative view on (global) sustainability

In Kooperation mit dem DFG-Netzwerk "The Global Politics of Post-Growth"

Leitung: Giulia Mennillo / Matthias Kranke

Sekretariat: Iryna Bielefeld, Tel.: 08158 / 256-53

It is increasingly accepted that contemporary societies are both socially and ecologically unsustainable in myriad ways. Among those who agree to this observation, the debate about the role of economic growth has intensified and becomes increasingly polarised. Relative to the dominant green growth approach, once marginalised post-growth alternatives are slowly gaining traction, especially in academic and activist circles. However, the take-up of such ideas by political parties, administrations and corporations has been hesitant, arguably because economic growth remains fundamental to the functioning of various institutions, including the welfare state. This three-day transdisciplinary conference thus explores post-growth concepts and policies from a global political perspective to understand the roots of and assess potential responses to the poly-crisis, which points to an existential crisis of global sustainability governance. We open with a roundtable (in German) on Wednesday, discuss ongoing and published work on Thursday, and derive lessons learned on Friday.