narratives of change
Storytelling is often considered a critical aspect of human cultures. We communicate information, ideas, hopes, worldview, and warnings to each other through story in all sorts of parts of our lives. We encounter storytelling, or narratives, of change regularly when we read science fiction or speculative fiction, when we hear about prophecies, or when we try to discuss the world we imagine could be… The narratives of change that are part of addressing the global ecological crises are no different- they offer potential pathways towards transformation through narrative world building, and have embedded in them theories of change, worldview, assumptions, and beliefs, which both constrain and define what is considered possible and desirable.
watch the session here:
In this session, Shaun talks about some of the narratives of change that are being discussed in relation to the global ecological crisis and what worldview or assumptions some of these narratives are based on, so that we might better assess our own desires and beliefs about what change we are working towards. This will include ideas about utopias, dystopias, eco-modernism, eco-fascism, the ‘good’ anthropocene, the Ecozoic, degrowth, Buen Vivir, and the pluriverse.
Then Meg and Sam spend some time introducing us to Degrowth. Degrowth is an idea that criticizes any system that pursues economic growth first and foremost. It is also a movement where critical ideas converge with political action, a practice that reduces resource use while encouraging relationship, reciprocity and equity, and a growing body of scholarship that engages, allies with and challenges different narratives of change.
But degrowth isn’t just a policy package. Nor is it only about reducing our footprints, or anticapitalism. Degrowth is about collectively reimagining what it means to live well now and into the future. It’s about exploring and giving legitimacy to radically different ways of organizing our economy and our society. It’s about prioritizing relationships in ways that recognize our interconnectedness and encourage conviviality, solidarity and care for each other and the planet we reside on.
Meg speaks alongside her pal, colleague and comrade, Sam, about what is and isn’t degrowth, degrowth in practice, and how degrowth thinking can inform the imagination of desirable futures.
speakers:
Meg Egler is a degrowth organizer from Edmonton, AB. She has a penchant for unions, collective living, and making anti-capitalist folk-pop. Her PhD. research explored narratives of energy transitions and desirable futures in resource-dependent communities in Canada and the United States, and the roles of the State, corporations, and workers in shaping them.
Sam Bliss's Ph.D. research, community organizing, and entire social life center on non-market foodways in Vermont. He is a member of the scholar-activist collectives DegrowBTV, DegrowUS, and Research & Degrowth. Sam sings and writes some songs in a band called Marxist Jargon.
resources:
Here are some links to information on various narratives of change mentioned in the session:
The Good Anthropocene: here
A BUNCH OF DEGROWTH LINKS:
And a blog post by Sam Bliss regarding Degrowth and Ecomodernism in conversation and conflict