| 1. |
- Chertkovskaya, Ekaterina, et al.
(author)
-
From economic growth to socio-ecological transformation : Rethinking visions of economy and work under SDG 8
- 2023
-
In: The Environment in Global Sustainability Governance : Perceptions, Actors, Innovations - Perceptions, Actors, Innovations. - 9781529228021 ; , s. 197-216
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This chapter critically analyses SDG 8 (Decent work and economic growth) and its targets from the perspective of degrowth, and suggests how the economy and work could be reoriented towards socio-ecological transformation. First, it problematizes the goal of perpetual economic growth, which is not compatible with ecological sustainability because of the impossibility of decoupling GDP growth from material and energy throughput at the global level. It also pays attention to injustices entangled with the pursuit of growth. Second, it discusses the understanding of work in SDG 8, arguing that the growth-centrism of societies makes work unsustainable and unjust, while the current targets address the symptoms rather than underlying causes of the problems with work. Third, instead of economic growth, the chapter argues that socio-ecological transformation is a more fitting orientation for societies. In line with this goal, it formulates a vision of regenerative economy focused on well-being, sufficiency and equity, and a vision of work that emphasizes work in regenerative activities, its democratization and working less. In conclusion, it suggests that the overall framework of Agenda 2030 needs to focus on well-being rather than the growth-focused and Western notion of development, and articulates an alternative to SDG 8.
|
|
| 2. |
- Chertkovskaya, Ekaterina, et al.
(author)
-
Plastic turbulence: illusions of containment, clean-up, and control, and the emergent promise of diverse economies
- 2023
-
In: Global Environmental Politics in a Turbulent Era. - : Edward Elgar Publishing. - 9781802207132 - 9781802207149 ; , s. 25-36
-
Book chapter (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Global ecosystems are currently buckling under the weight of “plastics turbulence:” the condition of ubiquitous plastic entanglement within all human and non-human natural systems. This chapter argues that “global plastics governance” - the fragmented and variable political and institutional response to the plastics crisis - suffers from strategies that are doomed to fail because they miss what is at stake. We criticize current initiatives as falling prey to illusions of containment, clean-up and control. These initiatives all assume that plastic turbulence can be addressed without altering our core, economic relationships to plastics. To dispel the illusions, the chapter suggests an alternative path forward that is defined by “diverse economies,” which recognize the diversity of economic activity that operates beyond or outside the profit motive. The chapter gives three brief examples of such diverse economies and reflects on their potential to address the plastics crisis.
|
|
| 3. |
- Hasselbalch, Jacob, et al.
(author)
-
Organizing for transformation: post-growth in International Political Economy
- 2023
-
In: Review of International Political Economy. - 1466-4526.
-
Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The global political economy is organized around the pursuit of economic growth. Yet scholars of International Political Economy (IPE) have been surprisingly slow to address its wide-ranging implications and, thus, to advance debates about post-growth alternatives. The premise of the article is that for IPE to deepen its grasp of the escalation of contemporary socioecological crises both analytically and normatively, it needs to put the growth question front and center. To problematize the pursuit of economic growth from an IPE perspective, we bring together research on green growth, post-growth/degrowth, sustainability transitions and socioecological transformation. More specifically, we develop an analytical framework that revolves around four pathways of reorganization toward socioecological sustainability: (1) modification, (2) substitution, (3) conversion and (4) prefiguration. We use illustrative examples from the plastics and food sectors to show how the post-growth pathways of conversion and prefiguration could interact to trigger change for sustainability. Notably, our discussion reveals that conversion, which requires a strong state for developing post-growth institutions, is the least traveled pathway in both sectors. This insight points to a strategic priority for post-growth proponents and an urgent research agenda for IPE scholars.
|
|
