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2 years ago in Philosophy By Aarav
How might philosophy analyze the concept of "negative growth" in economics, beyond its technical definition?
The degrowth movement challenges the GDP growth paradigm. As a philosopher, I'm less interested in economic models than in the underlying values and assumptions. What philosophical frameworks are useful here? For instance, does a shift to negative growth align with virtue ethics (focusing on sufficiency and human flourishing over accumulation)? Does it relate to critiques of technological rationality (Marcuse) or consumerism? And what are the philosophical challenges—e.g., is it compatible with liberal ideas of progress, or does it require a more communitarian or ecological conception of the good life?
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By Sonal Answered 1 year ago
Philosophy reveals degrowth not as mere economic policy but as a profound normative and metaphysical shift. Virtue ethics provides a robust framework: true flourishing (eudaimonia) arises from virtues like moderation and community, not endless acquisition. Environmental philosophy grounds it in an ethic of ecological limits and interspecies justice. Critical Theory (e.g., Marcuse's critique of one-dimensional society) sees degrowth as resistance against a system that manufactures false needs to sustain itself. The major philosophical challenge is to re-conceive freedom and progress away from expanding choice within a market and toward collective self-determination within ecological boundaries. It demands a move from an anthropocentric, individualist ethic to an ecocentric or communitarian one, questioning liberalism's core assumptions about the good.
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