In this interview Review of Democracy political economy editor Kristóf Szombati speaks with Vincent Liegey — degrowth activist, essayist, lecturer and editorial advisor of the new Routledge Handbook of Degrowth — about the roots, trajectory, and challenges of the degrowth movement.
Beginning with the rise of degrowth from activist origins in early 2000s France to a now-global intellectual and political project, the wide-ranging conversation engages with degrowth as an intellectual project and as a social movement, focusing on its breakthrough into mainstream discussion and the hurdles to it building up its influence.
Liegey, who is originally from France but has been living for a long time in Hungary, touches on the erosion of trust in mainstream politics, the psychological cost of economic life, and the political ambivalence of youth. Despite an admittedly grim outlook for a politics of solidarity, he highlights the power and autonomy of networked grassroots communities and insists that “everything is already here” to build a livable post-growth future. To get there he calls for a three-pronged strategy based on survival, resistance, and readiness.
The conversation was conducted by Kristóf Szombati. Lilit Hakobyan edited the audio file.
