There is no ecological healing without a fundamental shift in the way we view and value resources. It's not just about pricing out "externalities", but rather reconsidering the value systems that underpin our economy in the first place. In school, many of us were taught neoclassical economics as the universal and scientific truth of how society works. That needs to change.

Degrowth is a new paradigm for thinking about societal and economic progress. It's not about  looking at sustainability as a window for "green growth", nor is it about mitigating financial "climate risks". It's about fundamentally reprioritising the economy around care, solidarity, community, wellbeing over corporate profits and GDP growth. By traditional metrics, the economy would need to scale down -- but in a way that redistributes wealth and strengthens socio-ecological wellbeing.

Nobody has actually called degrowth "Snail Economics" yet (so don't try to google it), but with its  rapidly expanding academic community that is gearing towards mainstream popularisation, I wouldn't be surprised to see degrowth picture books with cartoon snails soon. (Swipe to see what those little creatures have to do with degrowth). I am very intrigued by this world of thought and how it draws from virtually every scholarly discipline.

Here are some resources on degrowth that I've found useful:

Articles:

‍

Websites:

‍

More Extensive Resources:

‍