Abstract
This article presents a sympathetic critique of degrowth scholarship, which reproduces anthropocentric, Cartesian views of nature. I suggest overcoming these by drawing on the modernity/coloniality discourse, as well as engaging with indigenous scholarship and decolonial practices such as Buen Vivir. I make the argument for extending agency and rights to non-human nature, beginning with a shift from the language of “materials” to that of “the living world.” A focus on ecological, multi-species justice centred on the rights of nature would not only allow for a decolonisation of the degrowth debate, but also highlight issues around ecological debt and environmental justice.
Highlights
What Is Degrowth?The Modernity/Coloniality Discourse10 The modernity/coloniality discourse aims to reconceptualise our understanding of modernity from the perspective of the (Latin American) subaltern
This proposal has been made by the Kichwa people of Sarayaku, Ecuador, and “recognizes that the forest is made up entirely of living selves [including spiritual beings] and the communicative relations they have with each other.”[107]. Recognising and reflecting on non-Western ontologies and epistemologies could challenge the degrowth field’s inherent Cartesian nature/culture dichotomy, which I have argued exacerbates the current ecological crisis. Such reflection may result in the recognition of the “Other” not as a “traditional” society that is the object of climate change mitigation and adaptation, but as equal agents
32 This article has identified the Cartesian dualism of nature/culture as the cultural foundation of the economic growth paradigm
Summary
Lee. Electronic reference Katharina Richter, “Struggling for Another Life: The Ontology of Degrowth”, Transtext(e)s Transcultures 跨文本跨文化 [Online], 14 | 2019, Online since 31 December 2019, connection on 21 September 2021. This text was automatically generated on 21 September 2021. The author would like to thank Dr Francisco Carballo, Professor Sanjay Seth, and everyone at the Goldsmiths Centre for Postcolonial Studies for their generous and kind support during the last few years. I would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their thoughtful and insightful comments on an earlier version of the text
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
