Post-Capitalism, Post-Growth, Post-Consumerism? Eco-Political Hopes Beyond Sustainability. Blühdorn, I. Global Discourse, 7:42–61, 2017.
doi  abstract   bibtex   
As a road map for a structural transformation of socially and ecologically self-destructive consumer societies, the paradigm of sustainability is increasingly regarded as a spent force. Yet, its exhaustion seems to coincide with the rebirth of several ideas reminiscent of earlier, more radical currents of eco-political thought: liberation from capitalism, consumerism and the logic of growth. May the exhaustion of the sustainability paradigm finally re-open the intellectual and political space for the big push beyond the established socio-economic order? Looking from the perspective of social and eco-political theory, this article argues that the new narratives (and social practices) of postcapitalism, degrowth and post-consumerism cannot plausibly be read as signalling a new eco-political departure. It suggests that beyond the exhaustion of the sustainability paradigm, we are witnessing, more than anything, the further advancement of the politics of unsustainability – and that in this politics the new narratives of hope may themselves be playing a crucial role.
@article{bluhdorn_post-capitalism_2017,
	title = {Post-{Capitalism}, {Post}-{Growth}, {Post}-{Consumerism}? {Eco}-{Political} {Hopes} {Beyond} {Sustainability}},
	volume = {7},
	shorttitle = {Post-capitalism, post-growth, post-consumerism?},
	doi = {10/gfsjjr},
	abstract = {As a road map for a structural transformation of socially and ecologically self-destructive consumer societies, the paradigm of sustainability is increasingly regarded as a spent force. Yet, its exhaustion seems to coincide with the rebirth of several ideas reminiscent of earlier, more radical currents of eco-political thought: liberation from capitalism, consumerism and the logic of growth. May the exhaustion of the sustainability paradigm finally re-open the intellectual and political space for the big push beyond the established socio-economic order? Looking from the perspective of social and eco-political theory, this article argues that the new narratives (and social practices) of postcapitalism, degrowth and post-consumerism cannot plausibly be read as signalling a new eco-political departure. It suggests that beyond the exhaustion of the sustainability paradigm, we are witnessing, more than anything, the further advancement of the politics of unsustainability – and that in this politics the new narratives of hope may themselves be playing a crucial role.},
	language = {en},
	journal = {Global Discourse},
	author = {Blühdorn, Ingolfur},
	year = {2017},
	pages = {42--61},
}

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