1y ago

Jason Hickel on technology and degrowth

monthlyreview.org Monthly Review | On Technology and Degrowth

There is a common misconception among critics that degrowth proponents do not engage with the question of technology, instead leaving the implementation of technological solutions to the planetary…

Hickel makes the case for degrowth politics embracing focused technological innovation. To my mind this sort of tech-forward, eco-socialist political articulation is needed to achieve a solar punk future and stave off the worst effects of climate change. Curious others' thoughts!

4 comments

I’ve been imagining some sort of “path to the future” along those same lines – we desperately need degrowth now and solarpunk gives us a believable and achievable goal to aim for
degrowth + permaculture
↓
solarpunk + social ecology
↓
Solar Union (Cassini Division, Ken MacLeod)
↓
United Federation of Planets (Star Trek)
↓
the Culture

That was the most rambling pile of shit I've ever read.
I'll summarise: Capitalism bad. Socialism good. Socialism with the word democracy worked in for some reason, and total control of global finance, production and technology = best.
It smells like klaus schwab in here and I am not hungry for bugs.
- Capitalism is literally bad lmao Literally most of our current problems are a result of capitalism.
  
  Absolutely it is. My point was the rambling, barely coherent stroll around the garden path for 3000 words to tell us what we already know whilst barely managing to hide the worst kind of sniveling WEF global socialism as the solution.
  It's a shame that this movement has decided already to go against the better parts of human nature because they are right about a lot of things. Growth model economies cannot continue, and the solution MUST have some elements of socialised solutions to break that toxic addiction globally whilst taking on the serious challenges to our continued existence on this planet.
  It can't be a backdoor to global domination of shitty ideas though.