Hi all, I'm halfway through Jason HIckel's Less is More, and I've been very interested to understand more clearly how capitalism has anchored itself to growth through debt and investment, and the necessity of everything just continuously going up.

So it's clear we need change. How do we do that? The most practical route is to build a political movement, get into government, and put policies in place to break the cycle. The problem I'm looking at is that it's not just companies and campitalists that are bought into the growth system, governments are also (often heavily) leveraged with national debt. So any policies that act against GDP growth will probably also push the country in the direction of defaulting on national debt.

Am I right in thinking that? Are there solutions for this? Can anyone point me towards research done on this?

Adam Smith did not believe in infinite growth. He was a classical economist who believed that economic growth was a temporary phase that would eventually cease, resulting in a "stationary state" where wages drop to subsistence levels and growth stops entirely

It’s a pretty recent late 19 century to early 20th century where it became expected

I know that degrowth is mostly an environmental ideology but I want to see if anyone has some arguments for it that aren't environmental

People are really into how mining asteroids is possible

Every major breakthrough in human history, whether it is an architectural monument shaping a skyline, a piece of legislation protecting our civil rights, or technology connecting the globe, begins with a single idea. However, ideas alone cannot reshape reality or a fulfill long-forgotten dreams; concrete action is the only thing that makes a plan successful.

■ A truly progressive future depends entirely on the shared responsibility, daily efforts, and hands-on compassion of ordinary individuals who choose to act right now rather than passively waiting for the perfect moment.

It is incredibly easy to fall into the cynical mindset that a single person cannot make a difference, but local actions create massive compounding results when multiplied across neighborhoods. Whether it is a teacher supporting a struggling student, a volunteer mentoring children, or a resident planting trees, these small efforts aggregate into remarkable societal changes.

This philosophy is deeply embedded within the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which reinforce the idea that long-term environmental sustainability and social inclusion require citizens, organizations, and governments to collaborate at the grassroots level.

The single most effective vector for this collective action is investing in children and their access to education.

■ According to data from UNESCO, every additional year of schooling statistically increases an individual's lifetime earnings, fueling macro-economic growth and creating overall healthier societies.

However, true development extends beyond classroom textbooks; children require robust emotional support, regular encouragement, healthcare, and safe spaces to develop their unique talents. Ultimately, a compassionate, equitable world is not something we passively inherit, it is something we actively build through the daily choices we make to support vulnerable populations and empower the next generation.

What are your thoughts?

They do know green growth is very debatable

Isn't that socialism? A rose by any other name.

Doesn’t most emissions decrease happen in recessions