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Critiques of Growth

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Postgrowth and Wellbeing

Abstract

This chapter reviews the debates that highlight the problematic ecological and social consequences of growth. It argues that more recent limits to growth positions have moved away from a focus on resource limitations. Instead, concerns about the surpassing of a range of “planetary boundaries”, especially potentially catastrophic and irreversible effects of climate change, have become more important for this debate, as it is already affecting people’s wellbeing. The final part of this chapter introduces ideas of postgrowth. It provides an overview of different positions within this field, distinguishing system-reform, anti-capitalist and alternative-open approaches which differ in the ways in which they criticise growth and consider its relationship to growth.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Sustainability Research Institute, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds, Leeds, UK

    Milena Büchs

  2. Lund University, Lund, Sweden

    Max Koch

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  1. Milena Büchs
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  2. Max Koch
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Correspondence to Milena Büchs .

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Büchs, M., Koch, M. (2017). Critiques of Growth. In: Postgrowth and Wellbeing. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59903-8_4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-59903-8_4

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  • Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-59902-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-59903-8

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