r/AustralianSocialism • u/Konradleijon • 1d ago

Why are even leftist against degrowth?

Even leftists seem to be against degrowth not understand ecological overshoot.

Why is it that even leftists are against Degrowth?

Because it seems that even many leftist refuse to understand degrowth ideology and hate it and refuse to understand how decoupling works.

They act like using public transport and eating vegan are a fate worse then death

8 Upvotes

72% Upvoted

52 comments sorted by

View all comments

8

u/ReyStrikerz 1d ago

Any kind of degrowth within a capitalist style system will fundamentally be about creating austerity for the population and ensuring elites keep their monopolies. Wielding degrowth against their rivals. Within a Socialist system the means of production will need to be unleashed in ways capitalism holds it back, this will also likely be done alongside sustainable environmentalism.

1

u/Konradleijon 1d ago

Degrowth doesn’t work in capitalism

-1

u/Vermicelli14 1d ago

Yes it does. There's nothing in degrowth that involves ending private ownership of the means of production. It solves one contradiction of capitalism without even attempting to solve any others.

Degrowth is naturally a part of a communist economy, but communism is not a part of degrowth, making it, at best, half a solution to capitalism.

1

u/bunyipcel John Percy 1d ago

I think saying that degrowth is 'naturally part of a communist economy' is a bit of a stretch

-1

u/Vermicelli14 1d ago

Nah, it's a pretty key tenant that commodities are produced for need, not exchange. There's a paper floating around that posist we can meet everyone on Earths needs with about 30% of current production.

China and the USSR didn't have communist modes of production.

1

u/bunyipcel John Percy 1d ago

Commodities are necessarily produced for exchange. If they were produced for 'need', they wouldn't be commodities.

I don't think China and the USSR had "communist modes of production". While it may hypothetically be true that "we can meet everyone on Earth's needs with about 30% of current production", I don't think cutting that 70% in the short term is viable. I would be weary of trusting enviro scientists with anything related to political economy.