The Prerequisites for a Degrowth Paradigm Shift: Insights from Critical Political Economy

Hubert Buch-Hansen

Ecological Economics, 2018, vol. 146, issue C, 157-163

Abstract: What would it take for a degrowth paradigm shift to take place? Drawing on contemporary critical political economy scholarship, this article identifies four prerequisites for socio-economic paradigm shifts: deep crisis, an alternative political project, a comprehensive coalition of social forces promoting the project in political struggles, and broad-based consent. It is argued that, on the one hand, there is much to suggest that current crises cannot be resolved under existing institutional frameworks and that degrowth is a political project that provides solutions to some of the key problems currently facing humanity. On the other hand, the prospects for a degrowth paradigm shift remain bleak: unlike political projects that became hegemonic in the past, degrowth has neither support from a comprehensive coalition of social forces nor any consent to its agenda among the broader population.

Keywords: Crisis; Critical political economy; Institutional change; Degrowth; Paradigm shift; Political projects (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (37)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:ecolec:v:146:y:2018:i:c:p:157-163

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2017.10.021

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