Very interesting topic. And I do have an opinion about this. As someone who grew up in the soviet era and lived the soviet union life I can tell you that there were a lot of pros. Everyone who wanted to work, worked. Everyone who needed a home had one. Everyone had food on the table. People cared about the culture and life as a community. There were no homeless people or drug adicts. There was no illegal imigration problem. Yes there was less choice in things to buy and do, but the sense of the community was much stronger. People actually spoke to their neighbours and helped each other.There was less crime. Everyone worked for the common good instead of trying to get rich. Young people had respect and care for the elders which is becoming less and less the case in the modern western world. People are losing their purpose, identity...the world is not going in the right direction IMO. The thing is, the reason why some countries are so poor is because they've been robbed and terorised by the rich countries for decades. Not because they didn't have enough resources. It's very easy to use the pretext of "we're coming to save you". Wars are driven by greed! Greed is not driven by the fear of scarcity, as the people who have the least are the kindest and most selfless ones. Greed is driven by too much ambition and too little care for others. I could go on about this and why rich are always getting richer for ages, but bottom of the line is - we've become a throw away society with less values and more greed. So perhaps the saying "degrowth = you can be more self-sufficient, produce less and live contentedly" is not so controversial and is actually something we should consider.

I think that the main issue is the meaningless growth for a sake of growth and corporations focusing only on shareholder value and not the value for society, so maybe we shouldn't oppose growth seen as a progress, but have a reality check on the current state of capitalism. I don't think socialism/communism oposes growth, as it has a more technocratic tendencies. It just have a different model for it. Also, I recently read an interesting paper: How much growth is required to achieve good lives for all? Insights from needs-based analysis

Hey Nika, This is such an interesting (and often polarizing) topic! I’ve come across the concept of degrowth a few times, and it always sparks a fascinating debate. The core idea of degrowth—prioritizing sustainability, reducing consumption, and living with “enough”—sounds idealistic, but I think its feasibility depends heavily on the context and scale. Here's my take: Self-Sufficiency vs. Market Dependency In theory, becoming more self-sufficient and consuming less could reduce strain on the environment. However, for many people, achieving this is unrealistic without disrupting the systems we rely on—like global trade, technology, and specialized labor. Modern economies are deeply interconnected, and pulling back significantly could lead to unintended consequences (e.g., supply chain collapses). Human Psychology and Progress As humans, we’re hardwired for progress and improvement. Degrowth challenges this by promoting a mindset shift: contentment over constant ambition. But let’s be honest—can we realistically undo millennia of human nature and a system built on growth as a metric for success? Growth ≠ Wastefulness Not all growth is bad. Innovations in green tech, circular economies, and AI are forms of "growth" that aim to decouple economic progress from environmental harm. This might align better with the world’s trajectory than a hard stop on traditional growth. Global Inequalities Degrowth might make sense for wealthy nations where overconsumption is rampant, but what about developing economies still catching up? The idea feels unfairly skewed toward those who’ve already benefited from industrialization. So while degrowth raises valid concerns about the sustainability of unchecked growth, it feels more like a critique of excess rather than a universal solution. Maybe the middle ground lies in “green growth” or creating systems that allow for progress while respecting ecological boundaries. What’s your take? Do you think we’ll ever see a global shift toward this, or is it more of a thought experiment to challenge how we measure success?