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Page added on October 11, 2016
D.E.growth: A Small Change in the Slogan with Large Benefits
In a recent article with Stefan Drews, we discussed why degrowth might be an unfortunate name and slogan for the alternative economics movement. We listed several expressions that could possibly be better, but we were also upfront about their disadvantages. Here I propose a new term that might combine the advantages of the word degrowth with those of its more positive alternatives.
For an assessment, a brief review of pros and cons of the current slogan is given. Degrowth satisfies some important criteria of a good catchword. Most notably, it raises attention. As it sounds contradictory to the currently accepted goal, it promises a real alternative. This is interesting and provocative. The word is also short and easy to remember. Besides, it has not been misused or co-opted by the mainstream yet.
However, there are serious downsides. First, degrowth has a downward orientation (Fig. 1), and “down is bad” according to a primary metaphor rooted in physical experiences. Already in ancient Rome, down meant death. We feel down and need to be cheered up. Hell is below us, heaven is above. The association of up with good and down with bad will not change in the foreseeable future. And growth is up. Plants grow upwards. We grow up, not down. Therefore, at a deep unconscious level, growth is good and degrowth is bad.
Fig. 1. A degrowth logo.
Fig. 2. Illustrations of growth, degrowth and other terms.
Second, degrowth is not “simply different” (Fig. 2). Deregulation is the opposite of regulation, decolonization is the opposite of colonization, degrowth is the opposite of growth. Any sensible person seeing Fig. 2 and knowing that two of the four labels used for the four illustrations are “growth” and “degrowth” would intuitively put these labels on the first and the third illustrations. The degrowth slogan is a source of endless misinterpretations.
Third, the most logical misinterpretation is GDP reduction, so conversations often revolve around the relationship between degrowth and recession, if not a return to the cave (Fig. 3). Activating these frames will not help to gain support for new solutions, no matter how promising the solutions might be. But popular support is essential to forcefully challenge the paradigm of economic growth.
Fig. 3. Degrowth discussions often start with negative frames, which is counterproductive
In a complex world where attention is scarce, first impressions are crucial. Degrowth spurs debate, but the debate will likely be lost. So how could we create a positive attitude towards alternative directions while keeping the advantages of the term degrowth?
The suggestion is: D.E.growth
Building on the popularity of the growth frame, the term can be intriguing. This is crucial to raise attention, and from this aspect, it might be better for a radical movement than slogans like “sustainable prosperity” or “good life”. Invoking growth in an innovative and somewhat puzzling way can help to focus attention on the issue of economic growth and to trigger discussions about its future, which is an important goal of the alternative economics movement.
Unlike in the case of degrowth, however, first subconscious reactions to the slogan might be positive. As the two capital letters in the beginning are separated, the first clearly understandable part is “growth”, and growth is up, and up is good. All subsequent information processing will then be influenced by the first positive subconscious evaluation.
Looking just a little more closely – which happens naturally when a term is not immediately understandable and refers to something yet unknown – one might suspect that it signifies something contradictory to the current paradigm. But this is already conscious thinking, exactly what members of the movement want to trigger. The resemblance to degrowth can help to keep the radical tone and much of the “missile word” effect emphasized by proponents of the current slogan. Furthermore, being a new expression, D.E.growth has not been co-opted by the mainstream yet. It is also short and easy to remember.
Seeing the abbreviation for the first time, one might wonder about its actual meaning. Curiosity and more or less correct guesses about the topic it refers to are a much better combination than the harmful misunderstandings that characterize degrowth. When asked about the meaning of D.E., members of the movement could give at least two crucial interpretations: “de-emphasize growth”, and “delight & equity growth”. These are clear and attractive terms that aptly summarize what the movement strives for. They can be effectively used in both personal and online communication. As a result, discussions could start by explaining the crucial objectives as part of a positive vision, instead of struggling to keep distance from frightening images when explaining what degrowth does not mean. In contrast to degrowth, putting happiness and a more equitable society in the center of the debate maps out an agenda that is “simply different” from the current paradigm. With this interpretation, D.E.growth says much more than the present slogan and captures more accurately what members of the movement want to say.
And all this is done in a very appealing way: growth of delight and equity are beyond-growth objectives people can easily agree with. Winning their hearts and minds and bringing alternative ideas somewhat closer to the ideological and political center will be essential to make a difference. The strength or lack of public support will be decisive when the next window of opportunity opens for alternatives. Naysayers who protest even in their slogan will not be able to reach out sufficiently. Presenting the same ideas as part of a positive vision holds much more potential to gain popular support.
Finally, it is also crucial that it will be easy to make the change. The rebranding is so subtle that results achieved so far will not be risked. Supporters will not turn away, web-pages will need very little editing. It is just a refinement of something that already exists, not a difficult relaunch. Compared to any other suggestion, this is a major advantage because those who invested most time and energy in building up the movement so far will have the largest influence on the decision to keep or change the name. So it is very important that people credited with earlier successes, especially the invigoration of the growth debate, will not lose anything. And they won’t. On the contrary, it is quite possible that we will all win.
22 Comments on "D.E.growth: A Small Change in the Slogan with Large Benefits"
Apneaman on Tue, 11th Oct 2016 7:18 pm
Oh please. Just fuck off with this desperate horse shit.
GregT on Tue, 11th Oct 2016 8:15 pm
D.E.growth is coming, and I have a feeling that the writer of this piece isn’t going to be overly ecstatic when it does.
makati1 on Tue, 11th Oct 2016 8:33 pm
As any 3rd world citizen what ‘D.E.Growth’ is and he/she will tell you it is pain and suffering and a short, brutal life. Something foreign to most Westerners. The closest thing would be the Great Depression and most of those who lived thru that are dead.
Davy on Tue, 11th Oct 2016 8:45 pm
I find it pretty lame that this author wants to apply a marketing 101 approach to rebranding degrowth when the term represents a process that is going to kill people. Degrowth equates to a die off. If you can rebrand that and sell it then you are one bad ass MF.
penury on Tue, 11th Oct 2016 10:06 pm
I fail to understand the angst over the word degrowth. To me it sounds much softer than collapse, poverty, starvation and death which is what is really implied. If we adopt the current thinking we can rejoice and say everything is better every day. No need to scare the people with reality.
makati1 on Tue, 11th Oct 2016 10:42 pm
You got it in one, penury. As usual.
makati1 on Wed, 12th Oct 2016 1:25 am
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-10-11/eurasian-century-now-unstoppable
“The Western doomsday reports of China’s economy going down the tubes are simply either self-serving propaganda of hedge funds or speculators or fed by lack of understanding of the profound transformation in the entire structure of not only China’s but all Eurasia’s economy through the One Belt One Road initiative. China is undergoing a major transformation from a cheap-labor screwdriver assembly nation to a high-value-added high-tech manufacturer.”
Now, let the Western denials begin! LMAO
brough on Wed, 12th Oct 2016 5:41 am
The debate on where China’s economy is going is far more worthwhile than anything the above facile article can bring to the table.
I still think that China’s attempts to move their economy sidewards rather than upwards will run out of steam eventually due to the lack of cheap energy, which western nations have already used up.
makati1 on Wed, 12th Oct 2016 6:51 am
brough, they seem to be storing a lot of that “cheap energy” and making deals to buy even more. The Russian deals, Iran, Saudi, Venezuela, etc. And building ports and pipelines to keep it flowing in.
What is ‘expensive’ to you and I is not expensive to them. Why? They actually make something to sell out if it. They don’t waste it going to McDonalds for a piggy pack or to Walmart for some of their Chinese plastic junk.
New pipelines bringing NG into China from Russia are not going to go away either. China is NOT a debtor nation like the US and most, if not all, of the Western countries. They actually have huge reserves and gold. Not piles of bullshit. Also a nice income from their USBs and USTS, plus their trade excess from the US that they have to spend or watch shrink to nothing. A billion dollars per day in trade surplus is a lot of money to spend. And their interest from Uncle Sam is another $74 million per day to spend. That buys a lot of “cheap energy”.
http://cnsnews.com/news/article/terence-p-jeffrey/365694500000-merchandise-trade-deficit-china-hit-record-2015
http://www.politifact.com/virginia/statements/2011/apr/26/randy-forbes/randy-forbes-says-us-pays-china-739-million-day-de/
But, if all you get to read is US anti-China propaganda…
Davy on Wed, 12th Oct 2016 6:58 am
China is a huge economy and area. Many things are going on there. There is decay and rust along with modern and progressive. Swaths are still poor and subsistence farming. One thing is certain economically it will follow globalism track. Its economy is geared to exports not internal consumption. It is moving towards more services but ever so slowly and mainly with the richer regions. It is likely China will never break out of this export mold because this would require globalism to adapt. You can’t build out a huge export driven industrial base and then transition away from it in a few years. It took the US 3 decades to deindustrialize and that was as services grew slowly.
As we see globally today huge debt overhangs and stagnant growth dominate. We hear constant talk about a recovery but it never materializes. It may be too late for China to progress much more in terms of relative growth to other economies in globalism. We would need another planet. Will they grow at the expense of others? Will others grow at the expense of China? I think both will occur. This is called a zero sum gain. Now imagine a zero sum game in a period of economic decline. That can’t end well.
The best indicator of what is going on in China is the rich in China. They are positioning themselves with one foot in China and one out. That indicates angst economically and politically among those who know what is going on. China is a world power and will remain one. It will likely increase its military and become more assertive. The question is for how long will China grow and change once an economic downturn occurs that cripples the global economy. If the global economy wobbles along how long will China be able to do everything it does. It is clear with its debt levels and non-preforming loans it is trying to do everything almost at once. There are limits to this and the day of reckoning is ahead. It is ahead for Europe and the US both of which are living beyond their means.
These three power centers wag the world tail. If war comes globalism may stop in its tracks. Can you imagine the end of trade between the US and China? People would be hollowing in both countries because of the loss of jobs and trade. China is not going away and its connections to globalism will not decouple. Asia cannot absorb China’s products nor can Russia. An end to China’s trade with the west will disrupt China to its core. The west is in much the same situation financially and economically. Trade and finance are too important now and too fragile. A small disruption could bring the whole debt Ponzi down. Like it or not that is reality.
Harking back to the 20th century about a great world war is ludicrous in this situation. Talking about trade wars is talking about an economic depression. People will stop working and eventually stop eating regular meals if a significant hot or trade war occurs. Yes food is still economic. We have so many people that forget that eventually people in an economy need to eat. Chinese eat too and they import lots of food.
I scratch my head every morning I go over the news and see the disconnect of politics and economics. People want the world to be a certain way to fit their beliefs and aspirations. They are offended and angry about events and policy. The polarization is intensifying without consideration of the consequences. Where will this end because there will be an end game. Global stasis is not an option.
It is my hope a crisis economic or geopolitical will occur to head off the end game of a crisis induced collapse. Maybe the world will come to the brink and turn back. Turning back to what, that is scary too. Once disruption occurs the house of cards we call global finance and economy may fail with catastrophic consequences. So damned if you do damned if you don’t. How far will it fall and where. If you can answer that and tell me when I will send you a donation. These past few weeks I have been feeling a heightened awareness of danger. There is no need to say why because it is discussed daily here. We are truly in dangerous times.
Davy on Wed, 12th Oct 2016 7:09 am
Bad economic news out of Europe:
“Deutsche Bank Sells Another $1.5 Billion In Debt At Junk Bond Terms”
http://tinyurl.com/h3oa53t
“We Didn’t Know Things Were This Bad” – Ericsson Shares Plunge 17% After Shocking Profit Warning”
http://tinyurl.com/zjja27g
rockman on Wed, 12th Oct 2016 8:52 am
p – “No need to scare the people with reality.” Exactly…especially when the reality is already slapping some folks upside the head with many more standing in line for their beating. I see such articles as nothing more the a writer earning a paycheck. Essentially part of the “publish or perish” dynamic. As such easy to ignore.
Apneaman on Wed, 12th Oct 2016 1:28 pm
Stumbled upon at Reddit – lostgeneration. They were born into forced de-growth and lied to the whole time.
“About
This subreddit was forged about the same time the economy went to hell, lamenting the sorry state of the economy, the problems of an educated (and sometimes over-educated) young workforce having troubles finding employment despite “doing everything right”, and just what this generation is supposed to do when the usual markers of adulthood (kids, house, marriage) have been pushed back in the name of higher education/income potential, along with the collective reorganization of a new set of values.”
https://www.reddit.com/r/lostgeneration/
Sorry kids, caveat emptor and all that.
Apneaman on Wed, 12th Oct 2016 1:51 pm
Degrowth – D.E.growth
make a virtue of necessity
To do something you have been obliged to do as if it was your choice to do so.
make a virtue of necessity
Prov. to do what you have to do cheerfully or willingly. When Bill’s mother became sick, there was no one but Bill to take care of her, so Bill made a virtue of necessity and resolved to enjoy their time together.
See also: make, necessity, of, virtue
make a virtue of necessity (formal)
to change something you must do into a positive or useful experience It’s a long way to drive so I thought I’d make a virtue of necessity and stop off at some interesting places along the way.
See also: make, necessity, of, virtue
make a virtue of necessity
Do the best one can under given circumstances, as in Since he can’t break the contract, Bill’s making a virtue of necessity. This expression first appeared in English in Chaucer’s The Knight’s Tale: “Then is it wisdom, as it thinketh me, to make virtue of necessity.” Also see make the best of.
HARM on Wed, 12th Oct 2016 2:05 pm
This hand-wringing piece about trying not to panic the masses with ‘unhappy’ phonemes when reality intrudes on our collective Happy Motoring fantasy shows us just how utterly unprepared and un-adult we are as a nation and as a species.
We have officially become so infantilized and reality-resistant that the slightest hint that we are, in fact, very far into overshoot (and daily degrading the very environment our lives depend on) is literally unthinkable. Even the most tepid criticism of BAU/Growth cargo cult is grounds for violent protest and elicits threats of “Second Amendment solutions”, because “our way of life is non-negotiable”, as a former President succinctly put it.
Yup… we’re totally f****d.
Apneaman on Wed, 12th Oct 2016 2:37 pm
HARM, yabut we’re going to Mars, so everything will be awesome. Obama said so.
Obama just explained how NASA will get humans to Mars by the 2030s
http://www.sciencealert.com/obama-just-explained-how-nasa-will-get-humans-to-mars-by-the-2030s
For a minute there I was worried that the humans weren’t gonna see another century. Thank goodness for hope & change. One naturally leads to the other right?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSyYqD9v_wo
HARM on Wed, 12th Oct 2016 2:50 pm
Oh, “we” can go to Mars alright, it’s just a matter of money and resolve. To send a handful of humans –carrying massive amounts of life support and energy with them in a tiny tin can– so they can land and plant a flag on a totally uninhabitable desert planet.
While Mars is *theoretically* terraformable (again, pesky physics and mind-boggling energy requirements), we are already DE-terraforming Earth, which is far easier.
ghung on Wed, 12th Oct 2016 5:02 pm
Yeah, Harm, but Mars is smaller. Should be a cinch. Print up a couple of hundred trillion and advertise for volunteers.
Apneaman on Wed, 12th Oct 2016 9:49 pm
U.S. Farmers Have Dumped 43 Million Gallons Of Milk So Far In 2016
https://consumerist.com/2016/10/12/u-s-farmers-dumped-43-million-gallons-of-milk-so-far-in-2016/
Harm on Thu, 13th Oct 2016 12:48 am
@apneaman,
Thanks for the link. Appalling. Reminds me of Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath, where farmers were torching fruit to keep prices high while starving Oakies watched. But unfettered capitalism is the very best possible systfm amirite?
makati1 on Thu, 13th Oct 2016 1:45 am
In a perfect world, capitalism and democracy might work, but we don’t live in a perfect world, do we? Never did. Never will. Greed will ALWAYS win out.
Cloggie on Thu, 13th Oct 2016 3:33 am
Greed will ALWAYS win out.
In America, yes, the country of immigrants who shedded their identity at the front door in Ellis Island.
But other types of politicians, driven by a cause other than money, a personal calling, do exist.
Like nationalist Putin, although the American elite tries to portray him as a billionaire, which he isn’t, he couldn’t care less.
Or Orban the Hungarian.
Or all these western European nationalists, who regularly have to justify themselves in front of US imperial courts to defend themselves against neo-Bolshevik “hate” charges. There is absolutely no money in it for them. Just a life of constant fear of being executed by Islamic mob:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c8RcDKK_2yQ
But these heroes do it because they believe in and fight for their country.