Living Better Without Growth, Pierre Rabhi, Juliette Duquesne

Pierre Rabhi's new essay, in the "Carnets d'alerte" series, invites us to a completely new eco-citizen approach: degrowth, or even non-growth.

Pierre Rabhi's new "Carnet d'alerte" +0.3%, +1.1%, +0.5%... There's no end to economists' forecasts for Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth. It is hoped for, invoked, implored. In vain. A quest that remains just as feverish, while the decline in biodiversity, soil and water pollution, the disappearance of seeds, world hunger, and global warming are worsening! Why and how has growth become so central to our system? Can and should we do without it? What is the impact of growth on our planet? Does it play a role in a world of inequality between the super-rich and the super-poor? Would it be enough to renounce it and review our GDP... downwards? Living without growth must be at the heart of any ecological transition. Others, on the contrary, believe that technological innovations combining growth and preservation of our planet could be the solution. Would it be possible to apply these principles on a larger scale? What reforms would need to be put in place? And what political will would be determined to enforce them? To create this notebook, Pierre Rabhi and Juliette Duquesne interviewed degrowth economists, green growth advocates, but also sociologists, political scientists, as well as European, African, and Asian citizens and entrepreneurs. Testimonies from civil society actors show that it is possible to live better with the "happy sobriety" and "power of moderation" dear to Pierre Rabhi for half a century.