Since the 1970s, the degrowth idea has been proposed by scholars, public intellectuals and activists as a powerful call to reject the obsession of neoliberal capitalism with economic growth, an obsession which continues apace despite the global ecological crisis and rising inequalities. In the past decade, degrowth has gained momentum and become an umbrella term for various social movements which strive for ecologically sustainable and socially just alternatives that would transform the world we live in.How to move forward in an informed way, without reproducing the existing hierarchies and injustices? How not to end up in a situation when ecological sustainability is the prerogative of the privileged, direct democracy is ignorant of environmental issues, and localisation of production is xenophobic? These are some of the questions that have inspired this edited collection.Bringing degrowth into dialogue with critical social theories, covering previously unexplored geographical contexts and discussing some of the most contested concepts in degrowth, the book hints at informed paths towards socio-ecological transformation.

Part I: Heterodox political economy and the critique of growth /1. From numbers to words: The transforming critique of growth in the wake of the golden years of capitalism, Alexander Paulsson / 2. Reorienting comparative political economy: From economic growth to sustainable alternatives, Hubert Buch-Hansen / 3. André Gorz's political ecology, Emanuele Leonardi / 4. The growth discourse in Marx's critique of political economy, Max Koch / 5. Unsettling degrowth genealogies: What do feminists bring to the table?, Stefania Barca, Catia Gregoratti & Riya Raphael / 6. Decolonising degrowth: Contesting closures, Riya Raphael /Part II: De/growth in the 'emerging' economies / 7. Degrowth in theory, growth pursuit in action: Bringing degrowth debates into the Russian context, Ekaterina Chertkovskaya / 8. Growth discourse and degrowth alternatives in Turkey, Mine Islar / 9. Degrowth in the Global South: A perspective from South Africa, Vasna Ramasar / 10. Growth, degrowth and decolonial resistance in Brazil, Felipe Milanez Pereira / Part III: The politics of transformation / 11. Waiting for degrowth: How to think about the anticipated decline of economic affluence, Alf Hornborg / 12. Fascist self-sufficiency: A historical exploration of the 'autarky' concept, Santiago Gorostiza / 13. Vade retro, Giacomo D'Alisa / 14. Meaningfulness, relationality, happiness and degrowth: A creative inquiry, Filka Sekulova