A tale of two utopias: Work in a post-growth world

TY - JOUR

T1 - A tale of two utopias

T2 - Work in a post-growth world

AU - Mair, Simon

AU - Druckman, Angela

AU - Jackson, Tim

N1 - Funding Information: This paper is the product of a collective process. Early versions were presented at the 12th conference for the European Society for Ecological Economics, and the 6th International Degrowth Conference. It was also discussed with members of the Centre for the Understanding of Prosperity and owes a particular debt to Christine Corlet Walker, Ben Gallant, and Nicholas Taylor. We also received very useful and constructive comments from three anonymous referees. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their inputs. The work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council. funded Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, grant number ES/M010163/1 and the Economic and Social Research Council funded project Powering Productivity, grant number ES/S015124/1. Funding Information: This paper is the product of a collective process. Early versions were presented at the 12th conference for the European Society for Ecological Economics, and the 6th International Degrowth Conference. It was also discussed with members of the Centre for the Understanding of Prosperity and owes a particular debt to Christine Corlet Walker, Ben Gallant, and Nicholas Taylor. We also received very useful and constructive comments from three anonymous referees. We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone for their inputs. The work was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council. funded Centre for the Understanding of Sustainable Prosperity, grant number ES/M010163/1 and the Economic and Social Research Council funded project Powering Productivity, grant number ES/S015124/1 . Publisher Copyright: © 2020 University of Surrey.

PY - 2020/7/1

Y1 - 2020/7/1

N2 - In this paper, we aim to contribute to the literature on post-growth futures. Modern imaginings of the future are constrained by the assumptions of growth-based capitalism. To escape these assumptions we turn to utopian fiction. We explore depictions of work in Cokaygne, a utopian tradition dating back to the 12th century, and William Morris's 19th century News from Nowhere. Cokaygne is a land of excessive consumption without work, while in News from Nowhere work is the route to the good life. These competing notions provide inspiration for a post-growth vision of work. We argue that biophysical and social dynamics mean that in a post-growth economy we are likely to have to be less productive and work more. But, this can be a utopian vision. By breaking the link between work and consumption at the level of the individual, we can remove some of the coercion in work. This would free us to do jobs that contribute to the social good, rather than generate exchange value, and empower us to fight for good work. Finally, we draw on eco-feminist analyses of capitalism to argue that by challenging labour productivity growth we can also challenge wider forces of oppression.

AB - In this paper, we aim to contribute to the literature on post-growth futures. Modern imaginings of the future are constrained by the assumptions of growth-based capitalism. To escape these assumptions we turn to utopian fiction. We explore depictions of work in Cokaygne, a utopian tradition dating back to the 12th century, and William Morris's 19th century News from Nowhere. Cokaygne is a land of excessive consumption without work, while in News from Nowhere work is the route to the good life. These competing notions provide inspiration for a post-growth vision of work. We argue that biophysical and social dynamics mean that in a post-growth economy we are likely to have to be less productive and work more. But, this can be a utopian vision. By breaking the link between work and consumption at the level of the individual, we can remove some of the coercion in work. This would free us to do jobs that contribute to the social good, rather than generate exchange value, and empower us to fight for good work. Finally, we draw on eco-feminist analyses of capitalism to argue that by challenging labour productivity growth we can also challenge wider forces of oppression.

KW - Employment

KW - Environmental limits

KW - Environmentalism

KW - Feminism

KW - Futures

KW - Post-capitalism

KW - Post-growth

KW - Post-work

KW - Utopia

KW - Work

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85082018405&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106653

DO - 10.1016/j.ecolecon.2020.106653

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85082018405

SN - 0921-8009

VL - 173

JO - Ecological Economics

JF - Ecological Economics

M1 - 106653

ER -