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Slow down : the degrowth manifesto / written by Kōhei Saitō ; translated by Brian Bergstrom.

By: Material type: TextTextLanguage: English Original language: Japanese Publisher: New York : Astra House, 2024Copyright date: ©2024Edition: First editionDescription: xx, 260 pages : illustrations ; 24 cmContent type:
  • text
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 9781662602368
  • 1662602367
Other title:
  • Degrowth manifesto
Uniform titles:
  • Hitoshinsei no "Shihonron." English
Subject(s):
Contents:
Preface to the English edition -- Introduction: The Green New Deal is the Opiate of the Masses! -- Climate Change and the Imperial Way of living -- The Limit of Green Keynesianism -- Shooting for Degrowth under Capitalism -- Marx in the Anthropocene -- The Wishful Thinking Known as Accelerationism -- Capitalism of Scarcity, Communism of Abundance -- Degrowth Communism Will Save the World -- The "Lever" of Climate Justice -- Epilogue: Not the "end of the story".
Summary: "In SLOW DOWN, Kohei Saito delivers a bold and urgent call for a return to Marxism in order to stop climate change. Here he argues that by returning to a system of social ownership, we can restore abundance and focus on those activities that are essential for human life, effectively reversing climate change and saving the planet"-- Provided by publisher.
Holdings
Item type Home library Collection Shelving location Call number Materials specified Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Adult Book Main Library NonFiction New 335.412 S158 Available 33111011231939
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"[A] well-reasoned and eye-opening treatise . . . [Kohei Saito makes] a provocative and visionary proposal."
-- Publishers Weekly , (starred review)

"Saito's clarity of thought, plethora of evidence, and conversational, gentle, yet urgent tone . . . are sure to win over open-minded readers who understand the dire nature of our global. . . . A cogently structured anti-capitalist approach to the climate crisis."
-- Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Why, in our affluent society, do so many people live in poverty, without access to health care, working multiple jobs and are nevertheless unable to make ends meet, with no future prospects, while the planet is burning?

In his international bestseller, Kohei Saito argues that while unfettered capitalism is often blamed for inequality and climate change, subsequent calls for "sustainable growth" and a "Green New Deal" are a dangerous compromise. Capitalism creates artificial scarcity by pursuing profit based on the value of products rather than their usefulness and by putting perpetual growth above all else. It is therefore impossible to reverse climate change in a capitalist society--more: the system that caused the problem in the first place cannot be an integral part of the solution.

Instead, Saito advocates for degrowth and deceleration, which he conceives as the slowing of economic activity through the democratic reform of labor and production. In practical terms, he argues for:

the end of mass production and mass consumption decarbonization through shorter working hours the prioritization of essential labor over corporate profits
By returning to a system of social ownership, he argues, we can restore abundance and focus on those activities that are essential for human life, effectively reversing climate change and saving the planet.

Translated from the Japanese.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preface to the English edition -- Introduction: The Green New Deal is the Opiate of the Masses! -- Climate Change and the Imperial Way of living -- The Limit of Green Keynesianism -- Shooting for Degrowth under Capitalism -- Marx in the Anthropocene -- The Wishful Thinking Known as Accelerationism -- Capitalism of Scarcity, Communism of Abundance -- Degrowth Communism Will Save the World -- The "Lever" of Climate Justice -- Epilogue: Not the "end of the story".

"In SLOW DOWN, Kohei Saito delivers a bold and urgent call for a return to Marxism in order to stop climate change. Here he argues that by returning to a system of social ownership, we can restore abundance and focus on those activities that are essential for human life, effectively reversing climate change and saving the planet"-- Provided by publisher.

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