18247: Organising Degrowth for an Equitable World: Creating Well-Being for Our Human & Non-Human Others

Social and ecological systems are no longer stable. The Earth System, long assumed to provide a steady foundation for humanity, has been disrupted and is transitioning to an unknown state. Societies increasingly recognize the impacts of global warming, species extinction, and resource scarcity and are acting to adapt or mitigate these challenges. This PDW focuses on the intertwined well-being of humans and non-humans, exploring aspirations, organizational forms, and practices for navigating socio-economic-ecological transitions. Human consumption of resources continues to rise exponentially (Steffen et al., 2015), exceeding planetary boundaries and threatening biodiversity. Degrowth and postgrowth economic models advocate reducing overconsumption in the Global North while fostering sustainable prosperity and ecological protection in the Global South. These approaches aim to rebalance the relationship between people and nature, as the well-being of both is incompatible with a "growth at any cost" paradigm. Despite awareness of animal welfare, it is often restricted to pets and livestock, while broader ecological systems remain overlooked. Harm to ecosystem services—pollination, carbon sequestration, and soil health—compounds biodiversity loss. Encouragingly, some communities, like those in Guatemala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve, are reversing environmental degradation, often drawing on indigenous knowledge. However, the dominant worldview still assumes a separation between natural and human systems, perpetuating a dialectical barrier to adopting post-growth paradigms (Whatmore, 2002). This PDW builds on previous discussions of degrowth (Latouche, 2004, 2010), focusing on creating new ontologies that recognize humans and non-humans as equals. We will explore the organizational implications of transitioning to regenerative economies, fostering dialogues on equitable well-being and systemic change.