The real democracy is degrowth! Long live degrowth!
Since May 15th, our Spanish friends have decided to occupy the street in order to complain about the lack of democracy and the dominant political party and the austerity plans it is imposing on its people.
As growth objectors we support this process and we rejoice at its expansion to France!
We want to highlight the non-violent character of this initiative and of the organisation: self-management, discussions in general assembly, and reflexion on participatory democracy, criticism of patriarchy – far from the sad spectacle given in France by our “elites”! We would like to point out the coherence between the ideas and their implementation; such as the positioning of solar panels on the Puerta del Sol in Madrid, for example.
We find Degrowth’ ideas in many of their demands such as the convening of a constitutional assembly, a reduction in inequalities (The UAA: Unconditional autonomy Allowance has been mentioned during the forums) a greater social justice, a greater control of the banks, a radical critique of the oligarchic power and a re-railing of democracy through the relocalisation of the common resources (energy, communications, food, transports, public services…).
We take part in these gatherings in France and in Spain in order to defend these ideas and to warn off the potential of this approach to run out of steam. What happened in Tunisia and Egypt, where revolutions are still ongoing, shows the importance of the obstacle. This is why we would like to propose a real project of transition to get out of capitalism and to re-appropriate our life choices. Today we not only face an economic and social crisis, but a convergence of an economic, social, environmental, energetic, political, and cultural crises. We are confronted with an anthropological crisis, which needs a radical interrogation of our capitalist, productivist, and consumerist society’s model.
We, the growth objectors propose:
- The implementation of a Maxium Income Ceiling (Revenu Maximum Autorise) to reduce the indecent social inequalities, to limit the waste of common goods and to break from the place the better-offs’ lifestyle has taken in our imaginary.
- The instauration of the UAA (Unconditional Autonomy Allowance) to relocalise the economy, to free ourselves from the core values of work and capitalism, to reach for food and energy self- sufficiency and to play a role in the re-appropriation of politics. This allowance will apply throughout one’s life, unconditionally, and it covers usage (water, gas, electricity), free access to essential public services, in local currencies and possibly partially in Euros.
- The start of a debate on our consumption patterns to decolonise our imaginary. It is time to get out of our toxic addiction to consumerism. Working less to produce less but better, to consume less but better and above all to live better: privileging culture, conviviality, sharing and solidarity over economic competition: get rid of the negative impact advertising is subjecting us to, and to free ourselves from identity struggles, and wars.
An infinite growth in a finite world is an absurdity
