Max Koch
Professor
An Economics of Deep Transformations
Author
Summary, in English
A wide range of literatures have identified the capitalist organisation of societies, and the capitalist growth imperative central to this organisation, as the root cause of the catastrophic climate and biodiversity crises. Highlighting the need to break with this imperative, a growing community of scholars generally viewed as anti- and postcapitalist, there is no consensus on how precisely to conceptualise
degrowth. In recent works we have proposed a conceptualisation according to which it is a process involving deep transformations on four interconnected planes of social being. These are (a) material transactions with nature, (b) social interactions between people, (c) social structure, and (d) the inner being of individuals. In our forthcoming book (Buch-Hansen et al. 2024), we theorise what such transformations entail in and how they can emanate from the sites of civil society, the state and business. In the present contribution we add to this perspective by briefly contemplating what sort of economics could play a
positive role for deep transformations to unfold. We start out from the currently dominant perspective in economics, neoclassical economics, arguing that it constitutes an economics of deep degradation inasmuch as it produces harm on each plane of being. We then outline a vision of an economics of
deep transformations a philosophically informed and genuinely interdisciplinary and holistic economics that could support change on all four planes.
degrowth. In recent works we have proposed a conceptualisation according to which it is a process involving deep transformations on four interconnected planes of social being. These are (a) material transactions with nature, (b) social interactions between people, (c) social structure, and (d) the inner being of individuals. In our forthcoming book (Buch-Hansen et al. 2024), we theorise what such transformations entail in and how they can emanate from the sites of civil society, the state and business. In the present contribution we add to this perspective by briefly contemplating what sort of economics could play a
positive role for deep transformations to unfold. We start out from the currently dominant perspective in economics, neoclassical economics, arguing that it constitutes an economics of deep degradation inasmuch as it produces harm on each plane of being. We then outline a vision of an economics of
deep transformations a philosophically informed and genuinely interdisciplinary and holistic economics that could support change on all four planes.
Department/s
- School of Social Work
- Social Policy and Sustainability
- LU Profile Area: Nature-based future solutions
Publishing year
2023-12-19
Language
English
Pages
42-46
Publication/Series
Real-world Economics Review
Issue
106
Document type
Journal article
Publisher
P A E News
Topic
- Social Work
Keywords
- Economics
- Deep transformations
- Degrowth
Status
Published
Project
- Postgrowth Welfare Systems
- Economic Elites in the Climate Change Transformation: Practices, justifications and regulations of unsustainable lifestyles in Sweden
ISBN/ISSN/Other
- ISSN: 1755-9472