International Conference on Degrowth in the Americas

Conference Themes

The Organizing Committee of the Montreal International Conference on Convivial Degrowth in the Western Hemisphere has begun planning for an exciting "slow" conference to be held in Montreal during mid May 2012. The conference will bring together participants from throughout the Americas as well as Asia, Africa and Europe to look at the theory, practice, necessity and challenges of building a post growth world. In this first degrowth conference in the Americas, there will be special emphasis on responses from the Americas to the economic growth paradigm.

The current degrowth discussion focuses on five main areas: (i) injury to and loss of ecosystems and human livelihoods and communities due to human activities; (ii) the rebuttal of the idea that human-made capital can substitute for the loss of natural capital; (iii) commodification of interhuman and human-Earth relations and values ; (iv) a critique of growth as a social, economic and political imperative and of over-reliance on technology and industrialization to address ecological pressures; and (v) an examination of global and historical distributional inequalities through social justice perspectives.

To facilitate discussion of the above main areas, the following six proposed themes are envisioned to help advance the convivial degrowth debate from an Americas perspective. Submissions, academic or artistic, individual or collective, received in response to the call for proposals will be assessed by open review panels and sorted according to these themes. Thematic working groups will be convened and discussions will proceed in three stages. First, thematic working groups will address sub-themes. Second, panels composed of participants from different working groups will be formed to lead discussions within each theme. Last, panels composed of participants within each theme will be formed to lead cross-theme plenary discussions.

1. Grounding. What is a flourishing Earth and what worldviews enable it?

Keywords: worldview, paradigms, narratives, discourse, semantics, rhetoric, ideology, status quo, epistemology, mother tongue, decolonisation of the mind, embeddedness, cosmology, pluralism, co-evolution, religion and spirituality

2. Knowing. How can the physical, biological and social sciences help us in understanding how to enhance the flourishing of the Earth’s life systems?

Keywords: biology, physics, chemistry, life sciences, ecology, boundaries, limits, thresholds, life systems, cycles, evolution, cosmology, thermodynamics, research, uncertainty, risk, indicators, metrics, technology, scale, momentum, traditional knowledges, stocks, flows, bioproductivity, biocapacity, life support capacity

3. Relating. What means of relationship and exchange can help enhance the continual flourishing of the Earth’s life systems?

Keywords: interconnectivity, relationship, exchange, materiality, commodification, commensurability, valuation, commonwealth of life, economics, ownership, sacredness, empathy, rationality, industrialisation, sense of place, localism, conviviality, simplicity, cooperation, waste, employment, capitalism, reciprocity, symbiosis, altruism, competition, money, currencies, banking systems, gender, multiculturalism

4. Consenting. How can the major political, economic, development, social, technical, and scientific priorities of society be developed with broad and informed public dialogue and consent?

Keywords: discourse, deliberation, advertising, media, politics, education, deception, brainwashing, hegemony, propaganda, truth, dialogue, democracy, public sphere authoritarianism, conviction, trust, fear, honest brokers, expertise, governance, regulations, subsidiarity, consent, accountability, norms, laws, institutions, capitalism, socialism, other “isms”, imperialism, militarism

5. Sharing. How can the radically unjust inequalities between people be eliminated; and how can the human fair share of the Earth’s life support systems be defined and achieved?

Keywords: sharing, fairness, justice, inequality, differentiation, fair share, distribution, limits, sufficiency, greed, us-them dynamics, intergenerational, intragenerational, interspecies, north-south, developed, developing, overconsumption, poverty, biodiversity, extinction, population, imperialisms, exploitation, accumulation, appropriation, privatization, commons, theft, Ponzi schemes, casino economy, taxes

6. Experiencing. What would a flourishing society look and feel like for individuals and collectives at various temporal and spatial scales?

Keywords: psychological wellbeing, interspecies wellbeing, happiness economics, public health, environmental integrity, risk prevention, security, public services, conservation, diversity, sufficiency, beauty, dignity, reverence, respect, slow movements, creativity and imagination, regenerative cycles, maintaining, evolving, innovation, involution, biosystems mimicry, change, foresight, hindsight, fufillment, reflection, challenge, restorative justice, self-sufficiency, provisioning, food, energy, entertainment, work, community, housing, transportation, education, communication systems, day-to-day life

Last updated: 14/07/11