How We End Consumerism

In this Our Changing Climate climate change video essay, I look at how we end consumerism. Specifically, I unpack how degrowth and ecosocialism can work in tandem to stop consumerism and overconsumption and reduce emissions in order to transition to a zero-carbon, post-climate change world. Degrowth is a response to the rampant growth/profit capitalist paradigm that fuels consumerism and is causing climate change. Degrowth de-centers capitalism and consumerism and instead argues for a world wherein there's a planned contraction of rich economies to allow for the well-being of everyone in the world. Degrowth, however, can't function well without ecosocialism. Ecosocialism recognizes that the climate crisis is a capitalist crisis and vice versa. In order to degrowth to work it needs to incorporate full democratic control of the means of production and the state in order to avoid draconian measures of austerity. Degrowth and ecosocialism represent an end to consumerism and overconsumption.

Source: Our Changing Climate
Length: 11:45
Country: United States
Language: English
Date: 04.06.2021