So for today’s second part of this episode, we’ll be dissecting the idea of degrowth. Degrowth, which prioritizes ecological sustainability and social well-being, is the deliberate reduction of energy and resource consumption to bring economies into harmony with the natural world. Degrowth challenges the status quo of measuring economic well-being based on the capitalistic hegemonic order. It is not just a recession; rather, it is a purposeful process meant to lessen the negative effects of economic activity on the environment while maintaining a fair and balanced allocation of resources. It's also become a hot topic in popular debate of what constitutes a successful economy under the guise of the free market and consumerism, and measuring growth solely based on Gross Domestic Product GDP. I had the opportunity to learn more about degrowth during a perceptive dialogue with Claudius Gräbner-Radkowitsch, who is a Junior Professor at the Europa University Flensburg in Northern Germany.

We learn why degrowth is such a contentious phrase because it questions the conventional wisdom that measures standard of living and prosperity using the capitalistic system, as degrowth advocates to protect natural resources and guarantee environmental justice for all through sufficiency. Stay tuned to learn more about this hotly debated idea for part two of this episode.

Here's the episode overview:

• Assessing Degrowth in a Degrowth Economy

• Ensuring Fairness in the Shift to Degrowth

• Public Policy and Regulations Supporting Degrowth

• The (Carbon) Emission Trading System and its Impacts

• Sustainable Swaps: Public Facilities/Transportation in the EU

• The Future of Degrowth: A Pragmatic Approach

• Technology’s Role in a Sustainable Future

• • Final Thoughts on Degrowth and Sustainability

  
  

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  Music credits

  Be Forest (2014).Sparkle.

  Live on WFMU's Dark Night of the Soul with Julie: Nov 6, 2014.Free Music Archive. Retrieved from https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Be_Forest/Live_on_WFMUs_Dark_Night_of_the_Soul_with_Julie_Nov_6_2014/Sparkle/ Be Forestis licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

  
  

  Be Forest (2014).Airwaves. Live on WFMU's Dark Night of the Soul with Julie: Nov 20, 2014.Free Music Archive. Retrieved from https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Be_Forest/Live_on_WFMUs_Dark_Night_of_the_Soul_with_Julie_Nov_6_2014/Airwaves/