90: Degrowth – by Design or Disaster

Learn about a new think tank that’s doing some of the most important thinking on the planet. Matt Orsagh is co-founder of the Arketa Institute for Post-Growth Finance and co-author of a just-published white paper, By Disaster Or Design: How Finance Can Evolve to Avoid the Worst of the Ecological Challenges We Face and Enable the Transition to a Better Economic Model.

That paper, and this episode, offer an introduction to degrowth, the rational response for a society in ecological overshoot. Degrowth is “an equitable downscaling of production and consumption that increases human well-being and enhances ecological conditions at the local and global level, in the short and long term.” We also explore how the financial industry needs to evolve as we transition to a post-growth economy.

Matt is also author of the Substack column, Degrowth is the Answer. The Arketa Institute is working to “normalize the conversation around ecological economics and degrowth in the financial world.” Steve Rocco and Anastasia Linn are co-founders with Matt Orsagh. The white paper was written by the three of them, and edited by Nicholas Harland.

Some upcoming events of note:

• April 29: Webinar to discuss the paper 'By Disaster or Design'. Register here: https://eu.bigin.online/org20104687142/forms/by-disaster-or-design-webinar
• May 7-9: Matt, Anastasia and Steve will attend and present at the in-person gathering of the Barcelona Action Circle of Financial Leaders. This is the culmination of a months-long engagement organized by the world-renowned team at Research & Degrowth: https://degrowth.org/
• May 13-15: Matt will attend the Finance Montreal Sustainable Finance Summit in Montreal, Canada: https://www.sommet-financedurable.com/en/home
• July 26-29: Matt will speak at the Degrowth Institute’s inaugural DeSchool event in Chicago: https://www.degrowthinstitute.org/events/deschool-2025
• Fall 2025: Arketa Institute will survey global financial professionals on their understanding of ecological economics and post-growth ideas to inform a report to be published by the end of 2025.

LINKS:

By Disaster or Design: How Finance Can Evolve to Avoid the Worst of the Ecological Challenges We Face and Enable the Transition to a Better Economic Model
https://www.arketa-institute.org/resources/by-disaster-or-design

What We're Doing Isn't Working: It's Time for a New Approach – Episode 9 of Dave the Planet podcast
https://davetheplanet.substack.com/p/what-were-doing-isnt-working

Behavior Change to Provide a Bright Future – Episode 15 of Dave the Planet podcast
https://davetheplanet.substack.com/p/behavior-change-to-provide-a-bright

Planetary Boundaries – Stockholm University
https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/planetary-boundaries.html

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World - by Robin Wall Kimmerer (author of Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants)
https://www.