Interview for the "Stream towards Degrowth" with Rob Hopkins during the launch of his book “The Power of Just Doing Stuff” in Bielefeld, Germany.

The project Stream towards Degrowth informs about events and actions related to Degrowth in the run-up to the 2014 Degrowth-Conference. The Fourth International Conference on Degrowth will take place in the German city of Leipzig from September 2-6, 2014.

The focus of the 2014 conference is on concrete steps towards a society beyond the imperative of economic growth. The conference will give room for scientific debates, exchange between activists and economic pioneers as well as artistic approaches to the subject. Both scientific insights and concrete projects and policies will be presented, experimented with and discussed. It is part of an international cycle of events: so far, there have been conferences on degrowth in Paris 2008, in Barcelona 2010 and in Venice and Montreal 2012.

Why degrowth?

Many analyses from various scientific disciplines imply that a growth-based economic and social system cannot have a future: Despite a growing number of technological solutions for “Green Growth”, inequality and the destruction of nature are significantly on the rise. It is high time to develop economic and social models that are independent of growth and can provide for a good life for everybody.