Economic Transformations: Beyond Growth?

Circular Economy Experiments

France positions itself as circular economy leader, with ambitious legislation on repair, reuse, and recycling. Repair cafés multiply. Extended producer responsibility expands. Industrial symbiosis projects link waste streams to resource inputs. These initiatives demonstrate possibilities while revealing limits.

The Territoire Zéro Déchet (Zero Waste Territory) programs show local circular economy potential. Participating communities dramatically reduce landfilling through comprehensive strategies. Success requires culture change beyond technical fixes—residents embracing repair, sharing, and sufficiency.

Yet circular economy risks becoming greenwashing without addressing overproduction. "Recycling doesn't solve overconsumption," notes Flore Berlingen of Zero Waste France. "We need absolute reduction, not just better waste management. Circular economy must mean producing and consuming less, not maintaining current levels through efficiency."

Commoning and Alternative Economics

Commons-based initiatives proliferate as alternatives to market and state. Community land trusts preserve affordable housing and urban agriculture. Energy communities democratically manage renewable production. Knowledge commons share innovations freely. These experiments prefigure post-capitalist possibilities.

The Collectif pour une Transition Citoyenne connects hundreds of initiatives creating parallel economy. Local currencies keep wealth circulating within communities. Cooperative supermarkets eliminate profit extraction. Time banks enable non-monetary exchange. Together, they demonstrate viable alternatives to conventional economics.

Scaling remains challenging. Commons initiatives often depend on volunteer labor and marginal resources. Legal frameworks designed for private property complicate collective management. Mainstream economics dismisses alternatives as irrelevant to "real" economy. Breaking through requires both bottom-up organizing and supportive policies.

Degrowth Goes Mainstream?

Once marginal, degrowth ideas enter mainstream discourse. The 2023 "Ralentir ou Périr" (Slow Down or Perish) report by Senate commission endorsed post-growth thinking. Major newspapers debate prosperity without growth. Youth especially embrace degrowth, seeing it as realism not radicalism.

A degrowth transition might involve: maximum income and wealth ratios; reduced working hours with job guarantees; free public services replacing commodity consumption; advertising restrictions; and planned obsolescence bans. These policies aim for wellbeing within ecological limits.

Opposition remains fierce. Business associations warn of economic collapse. Unions fear job losses. Many citizens equate degrowth with deprivation. Proponents must demonstrate that reducing material throughput can improve life quality—challenging but essential cultural work.