Society – Page 3 of 4 – André Reichel

2015/05/292015/11/07

Progressive Degrowth

Degrowth is a conservative perspective on humanity’s future and thus always runs into serious acceptance problems when dealing with progressive proposals of “limitless” developments. What is needed is a reframing of these proposals as conservative and limiting our future while degrowth is presented as a “new progressivism”.

If you are an optimist regarding your life, technological opportunities and the general scheme of things, degrowth is hardly an attractive political-economical idea – less a philosophy you’d like to call your own.… Read more

2015/04/042015/11/07

Convivial Modernity

In my module on »Sustainable Development« at Karlshochschule International University I also teach sociological theories dealing with the natural environment. The other day my class and I were discussing »Risk Society« by Ulrich Beck among others. The idea behind it is that the old industrial society – modernity 1.0 – has given way to a different kind of modernity, one in which the production and distribution of risks has taken the place of wealth production and distribution.… Read more

2015/02/022015/02/02

Groundhog day in Greece: On the missed opportunity for setting degrowth on the political agenda

The electoral victory of SYRIZA in Greece has fueled imaginations on the European left for a departure of ‘no alternative’ austerity politics. As much as a return of more imaginative politics is desperately needed in order to revitalize European democracy and save it from too much technocratic post-politics, it is rather doubtful if there really is a true alternative from a postgrowth or degrowth perspective. When looking more closely at SYRIZA’s Thessaloniki program many elements can be found that have the name of John Maynard Keynes written all over them: cutting taxes on fuel and property, raising the tax threshold, reintroducing a 13th month pension for low income pensioners, a 3bn EUR employment program sought to create up to 300,000 new jobs, and an increase in the country’s minimum wage.… Read more

2014/12/23

Underneath our skin: the new economy beyond growth

This is a very rough transcript of an interview done with Justin Ritchie and Seth Moser-Katz from the Extraenvironmentalist, a great “podcast, blog and video series that explores the mindset of an outsider looking in on Earth” – and a way of thinking as they proclaim. The original podcast from which this transcript has been produced (by myself, so all errors are exclusively my fault) can be found on Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/extraenvironmentalist/episode-83-1-andr-reichel-are

André Reichel (AR): If we want to restrict global climate change to about 2C we need emissions reductions in the range of 8 to 10 % per year.… Read more

2014/09/232014/10/22

It’s Postgrowth, Stupid!

The recent report on ‘Better Growth, Better Climate’ immediately resonated strongly with the media and policy makers. In a nutshell, the report argues that we can have everything: inclusive growth and development, better climate and ecosystem stability, and most likely we also can save the whales. I don’t want to belittle the strategic intent of the report and its drive towards very sensible policies in the light of an ever-increasing global ecological crisis. I especially welcome its focus on cities as a level of transformational government, the plea for establishing a low-carbon infrastructure, and a cut to non-sustainable subsidies in the energy sector.… Read more