LESS IS MORE: Imagining a good life beyond growth

The conference will be held in English at Istituto Svizzero in Rome and online. 

The global environmental crisis is a fact. The urgent need for sustainable solutions to stop environmental damage is more pressing and ubiquitous than ever, and it’s clear that these solutions need to consider both social and environmental justice. While in theory there is a large societal consensus that action is needed within this decade, opinions vary as to what kind of changes are needed, and how to achieve them. In this context, research on ‘degrowth’ or ‘postgrowth’ plays an important role in various research fields and social movements, and forms the basis of a dynamic discussion about the potential and limits to growth.

While advocates of economic growth argue that the solution lies in technological innovation and market mechanisms and that without further growth there is no development and wealth, critics warn that ‘green growth’ is a narrative that is used to displace socio-ecological costs elsewhere, while technology is neither able to repair existent damages and lost resources nor to make people live happier and healthier lives. Degrowth ideas and practices demand to be sustainable both socially and environmentally.

Engaging with contemporary interdisciplinary research on ‘post-growth-societies’, Istituto Svizzero seeks to feature a debate on ‘the limits to growth’. This was the title of a report published by the Think Tank Club of Rome in 1972. In the context of the first environmental movement in the 1970ies it provoked a debate that is seeing a revival in recent academic fields and social movements. What does it take to transform our societies to achieve a more just distribution of resources and more resilient systems, today and for future generations? How can we imagine a good life beyond growth?

In collaboration with the University of Lausanne, the University of Ferrara and Harvard University.

Organizing board:
Dr. Maria Böhmer
Prof. Christian Arnsperger
Prof. Viviana Asara
Dr. Viktoria Cologna (SNSF postdoc mobility grant)

PROGRAMME:

Thursday 09.11.2023

H14:30 ― Welcome Coffee

H15:00 ― Opening and institutional greetings
Maria Boehmer, Istituto Svizzero
Viviana Asara, Università di Ferrara
Viktoria Cologna, Harvard University

H15:15-16:45 ― Panel 1: ‘Limits to Growth’ today
Moderation: Christina Plank, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien

Julia Steinberger, Institute of Geography and Sustainability, Université de Lausanne
Matthias Schmelzer, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (online)
Ugo Bardi, Università di Firenze, member of Club of Rome
Mamphela Ramphele, co-president Club of Rome, Cape town (online)

H16:15 ― Discussion

H16:45 ― Coffee Break

H17:15-18:45 ― Panel 2: Welfare policies beyond growth
Moderation: Viviana Asara, Università di Ferrara

Manuela Zechner, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (online)
Roberto de Vogli, Università di Padova
Matteo Villa, Università di Pisa
Margaret Haderer, Technische Universität Wien

H18:15 ― Discussion

H18:45 ― Aperitif

Friday 10.11.2023

H10:30 ― Welcome Coffee

H11:00-12:30 ― Panel 3: Degrowth in practice
Moderation: Oxana Lopatina, University of Ferrara

Giulio Mattioli, TU Dortmund University
Timothée Parrique, School of Economics and Management, Lund universitet (online)
Irmi Seidl, Eidg. Forschungsanstalt für Wald, Schnee und Landschaft WSL
Francesca Gabbriellini, University of Bologna

H12:00 ― Discussion

H12:30-14:30 ― Break

14:30-16:00 ― Panel 4: Social movements and fields of action
Moderation: Leonard Creutzburg, Universität Zürich

Michel Cardito, Movimento per la Decrescita Felice
Anastasia Linn, Degrowth Switzerland
Paola Imperatore, Università di Pisa
Miriam Tola, John Cabot University, Rome
Fridays for Future spokesperson tbc

H15:30 ― Discussion

H16:00 ― Coffee break

H16:30-18:00 ― Panel 5: Where do we go from here? Future perspectives on Degrowth/Postgrowth in Europe
Moderation: Miriam Tola, John Cabot University, Rome

Onofrio Romano, Università Roma Tre
Christina Plank, Universität für Bodenkultur Wien
Carlos Alvarez Pereira, Vice President Club of Rome

H17:30 ― Discussion & Wrap-up