Shrink or Swim: Environmentalism & Degrowth

Casement's Leftovers

We've all heard the stats: unless we act radically in the next ten years, the world as we know it is fucked. But across the political spectrum, this doesn't seem to have sunk in . A lot of environmentalist activists, famously XR and Greta Thunberg, call themselves politically agnostic, which can be confusing for those of us committed to the Left. Environmentalism can often be seen as a middle class movement or worse: co-opted by the right as an excuse for fascism. As our environmental problems get worse, the threat of climate Nazis increases, and the most vulnerable populations in the world are the most at risk.
We clearly need radical solutions, but closer to home, Irish politicians have been continually uninspiring, unimaginative and unwilling to challenge capitalism in the name of environmentalism, the Green Party now infamous as Fine Gael on bikes.
Helen and Glen are joined by Environmental researcher and friend of the pod David O'Keeffe - @TheDOKpit - who debunks the myth of green growth, explains the problems with technological solutions and market strategies and explains that we cannot save the earth without radically changing our economy: the only answer is Degrowth.
Learn more about Degrowth from the expert, Jason Hickel, here:
https://www.jasonhickel.org/blog/tag/degrowth
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