A Viable Future? A Viable Future? Explorations in post-growth from Steady State Manchester.

de Mark H Burton, Carolyn Kagan, James Scott Vandeventer, Mike Riddell

Ten years ago we formed Steady State Manchester. Since then we have produced many articles, pamphlets, reports and blog posts, exploring the post-growth alternative, practically and conceptually. Since then, degrowth has become more widely known about and discussed. It has yet to achieve hegemony but those who make reasoned arguments for the feasibility of continued economic expansion on a finite planet are increasingly embattled. The body of work that we have produced has, as its main focus, the implications of a post-growth approach to economy and society at the meso-scale, that of the city region, or better, the bio or eco-region. What would it mean to adopt that approach and how feasible would it be, given that we are still inextricably linked with a global economic super-system? There is no simple answer and we have explored a number of dimensions to this question. Sometimes our work has extended beyond that meso-level, to more fundamental questions: Can growth be decoupled from environmental destruction? What is the role of money and could reforming it be part of the needed policy-mix? What social safety net is required in a shrinking economy and what policy instruments might help equitably constrain the expanding material economy? Our small group has become established as a serious voice in our city region and we have made many international contacts. Our work has been syndicated by other websites and media resources. Some of it has been presented at conferences and events nationally and internationally and some has appeared in book chapters, journal articles and publications of other campaigning organisations. However, until now it has been scattered. So here is a selection of our work, as a resource for the wider movements in degrowth, post-growth, climate activism, ecological economics, political economy, community psychology, urban studies, social and public policy, and political activism more generally. The book is divided into twelve sections. Each has an introduction to its chapters, contextualising and, where necessary, bringing the topic up to date. The book finishes with a postscript, rhetorically asking if there is a Viable Future. It also considers our impact as a group, questions of scale and issues that got insufficient attention in the previous selections.