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Personal reflections by Adept Economics Director Gene Tunny

Degrowth is the controversial but increasingly popular proposition that societies should deliberately shrink their economies to protect the environment or mitigate climate change. I recently appeared on the Principle of Charity podcast to discuss the question, Can Degrowth Save the Planet? The principle of charity is to be open-minded about the perspectives of others. Activist-scholar Anitra Nelson joined me for the conversation. The discussion was hosted by show hosts Emile Sherman, the acclaimed film producer (e.g. King’s Speech, Lion), and Lloyd Vogelman, a leading corporate adviser.  

I do not support degrowth, as I explained in my 2023 paper Debunking Degrowth for the Centre for Independent Studies (CIS), where I’m an Adjunct Fellow. Currently, there is no reason to make degrowth a policy objective. Indeed, no government aims for degrowth and is unlikely to in the future, given that degrowth would require vastly unpopular authoritarian measures. It would bring about significant reductions in living standards. This would be especially diabolical at a time when Australia and other economies face cost-of-living pressures and demands for more housing and public services. Degrowth runs counter to providing the housing and public services people demand. 

Even using the degrowth propositions to argue for slower growth is questionable. Who is to say there is an optimal or target economic growth rate? In a free society, the rate of economic growth should be determined as the outcome of the desires and actions of individuals, taking part in an economy and society with appropriate rules and regulations, of course.

To give it some credit, the degrowth literature reminds us that the planet faces various challenges, and we should avoid naïve techno-optimism about the future. We need to respect reality and not ignore our impacts on the physical world.

That said, degrowth is based on several assumptions and highly suspect conjectures (e.g. the possibility of runaway global warming) that lack evidence. Furthermore, it does not consider the role of the market mechanism in ensuring efficient resource use. It is based on computer simulations, which, to a significant extent, assume the Doomsday they are forecasting.

Finally, it runs counter to our track record in innovation and technological progress, which has pushed us beyond what were previously considered hard constraints, such as those about which Reverend Malthus was concerned. Degrowth is the latest manifestation of pessimistic doom-mongering that humanity has seen many times before. Indeed, the world faces many threats, but degrowth is not the way to solve them.

Published on 29 October and updated on 30 October 2024. For further information, please email us at contact@adepteconomics.com.au or call us at 1300 169 870.