This seminar offers a conceptual and political history of the idea of “degrowth” tracing its evolution from 1970s debates in ecological economics and political ecology (e.g. Andre Gorz, Ivan Illich) through to its renaissance in the 2010s led by figures like Giorgos Kallis, Kate Raworth, Jason Hickel and others. Although never a mainstream concept, let alone a movement, the political salience of degrowth has intensified over time, particularly in the context of concerns over climate change, automation and deepening social and economic inequality during the neoliberal era. While degrowth’s deep critical engagement with status quo growth oriented economics and politics is its best-known form, I wish also to explore its experimental efforts to theorize and constitute post-growth social relations. In closing I consider whether degrowth can at least offer a counter-spell of sorts to the magical thinking of right-wing tech accelerationism (e.g., Nick Land, Curtis Yarvin).
