In the contemporary world economy affluence of the few is accumulated at the expense of others

What is it about?

This paper discusses how the Global North and industrial centers predominately take advantage of subordinate peoples, landscapes, and habitats to secure and maintain their privileged position in the world economy. It is asserted that the capitalist world economy represents a zero-sum game where the “winners” generate their affluence at the expense of others. In addition to unprecedented socio-economic inequality, the ongoing and escalating ecological crisis testifies to the annihilation of non-human beings as, for instance, the processes of extractivism bulldoze rainforests, rattle the ocean floors, dismantle mountains, and cancel out the remaining places of wilderness. Instead of seeking affluence at the expense of others, there is a call for the redistribution of wealth and resources, and a call for the degrowth of the overly affluent and overly technologized societies in order for them to move towards sufficiency and sustainability.

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Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Why is it important?

The contemporary world economy is driven by perpetual economic growth, competition, and the accumulation of capital. This system relies on the exploitation of others. These others are our fellow humans, working in sweat shops and on industrial assembly lines, as well as dispossessed peasants and small holders, mainly in the Global South, and our fellow non-human beings all over the biosphere. To move towards sufficiency in the times of great uncertainty and distress, we need to be able to discuss and practice local and communal affluence, and foster lower and slower technology. For the degrowth movement, this means questioning urban dominance and urbanization-favoring sustainability initiatives, as well as pushing for local/communal livelihoods and resilience.

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