Schedule 9th International Degrowth Conference

Development discourse can still be seen as being hegemonic, in spite of decades of profound critique. Further, it can be seen as growthism's expression in the Global South. In a country like Colombia, development and modernization can even be said to constitute part of the national identity. Recently, in this country, the irritation in the press and general public as a Minister mentioned the need for Degrowth, reflects the solidity of the Growth mandate.
In this
presentation I argue that confronting the Growth mandate is imperative in the
Global South, even if it "still needs to grow" as is often argued.
The priority of growth, the mandate to develop, which reaches the depth of
religious fervor, needs to be challenged.
Capitalism's
own tales of scarcity are complemented by Developmentalism's supposed state of
not-enoughness, of not-reaching-yet-maturity, by the "Coloniality of
being". Confronting hegemonic discourse here could entail highlighting
what is already there, but is not seen. Tales of sufficiency could play a role
in countering the discourse that impoverishes discursively the Rest of the
West. A possibility: rehabilitating the imaginary around subsistence economies.
Not understood as a return to the past, but as an opening up of possibilities
of being.
This presentation will
be illustrated with an analysis of interviews: Tales of people who are old
enough to have lived "another" Colombia, one where sufficiency was
given, where consumerism had another countenance.

Info

Day: 2023-08-30
Start time: 12:30
Duration: 00:15
Room: ZV-KC-1
Type: Paper Presentation
Theme: Hegemonic worldviews and degrowth horizon

Links:

• iCalendar