Building Alternative Livelihoods in times of ecological and political crisis

International Online Joint Conference of the international degrowth research networks, the International Society for Ecological Economics and the European Society for Ecological Economics, hosted by University of Manchester, UK.

Given the continuing pandemic the joint conference between the international degrowth research networks and the International Society for Ecological Economics, together with the European Society for Ecological Economics (ESEE), will now be a virtual conference. It will take place 5-8 July hosted by the University of Manchester, UK. This conference will build on the experience of the joint colloquium of September 2020 to bring together academics from the Degrowth and Ecological Economics communities, voices from the Global North and Global South, civil society actors, activists, artists and policy-makers. It aims to break down silos and stimulate dialogues between and within different perspectives, disciplines and social movements.

Building Alternative Livelihoods in times of political and ecological crisis will remain the overarching theme of the conference. Details from the first call are outlined below. All proposed contributions already submitted will be considered for the conference. If you have submitted a proposal and wish to keep it in the system, then it will be considered as it is. All special session proposals have already been accepted and will remain in the system, unless you choose to withdraw them. All other proposals will be considered as they are. You are also welcome to revise your submissions by March 1st if you so wish, but this is not an expectation.

Given the significance of the pandemic for the themes of the conference, we are also inviting new contributions under an additional subtheme:

Economy and livelihoods after Covid-19: The Covid-19 pandemic and responses to it have had deeply unequal impacts on lives, livelihoods and well-being across race, gender and class. At the same time it has opened up the space for new possibilities for building alternative livelihoods and economies that can take us beyond a capitalist economy that requires ever expanding growth. This is an additional call for papers that look more specifically at the implications of the Covid-19 pandemic both for the forms of inequality that exist within current society and for the possibilities for building and rebuilding alternative livelihoods. Existing contributors to the conference are also welcome to revise their papers in the light of the pandemic if they would like to do so.

Submission must be made via the Scriptum platform at this link: https://tinyurl.com/ManchesterISEEDegrowth2021 . If you have not used this before then you will need to create an account. Please choose the theme Economy and livelihoods after Covid-19. Also please select one or more Keywords (called subcategories on some pages) from the drop down list to assist us in programme construction. For most people, registration and submission is straightforward but should you encounter difficulties please let us know via the conference email address and we will provide assistance. The platform is open for new and revised submissions. The deadline for new and revised submissions is March 1st.

A virtual conference inevitably means the conference will be less tied to our regional location and its agendas. However, we are reviewing options for continued exploration of conference themes here in Manchester, including via arts and activist elements and possible follow up events.

Previous call:

Building Alternative Livelihoods in times of political and ecological crisis is the overarching theme of the conference. Economic systems have always co-evolved with social, environmental and technological systems. The worsening ecological and climate crisis means we must urgently abandon practices of production and consumption associated with ecological degradation and rely on unsustainable extractivism. We must develop alternative livelihoods which are harmonious with planetary limits and safeguard material living conditions. We must invent and trial new ways of working, providing for everyone's needs, caring for each other and democratising the economy. We must seek clarity about the systems of provisioning which will be utilised in a society beyond growth where states and markets play more peripheral roles in the allocation of resources. In short, we must ask what are the alternative livelihoods which ensure the future conditions of societal wellbeing.

The construction of alternative livelihoods entails a radical transformation of economy, culture and society. What are the institutional arrangements which safely provide for basic needs, social stability and democratic legitimacy in the transition to environmental sustainability? How can both social justice and ecological justice for the populations of the Global North and the Global South be ensured? How can political support be mobilised for the necessary transformations? How can the transition to environmental sustainability be made politically viable and democratically legitimate?

We list below some of the topics that the conference could cover. We also look forward to ideas beyond these, which would expand the geographical and thematic scope of degrowth, as well as advance and further substantiate current degrowth​ ​debates.

  1. the economy beyond states and markets
  2. the future of employment, work and care
  3. debates on degrowth, green growth, the circular economy, and decoupling
  4. forms of decommodification and non-capitalist modes of resource allocation
  5. the democratisation of the economy and alternative models and forms of organisation
  6. the production and conservation of energy
  7. low carbon and low energy futures
  8. commoning resources
  9. money, debt and the financial system
  10. monetary and non-monetary measures of prosperity and well-being
  11. a universal basic income or universal basic services
  12. the green new deal and degrowth
  13. the decentralisation of power
  14. decolonization and feminist economics as challenges to power
  15. post- growth policy-making, law and governance
  16. how to respond to the ethno-nationalist environmentalism and anti-environmentalism of ascendant populist groups
  17. the politics of transitions to sustainability and the lessons to be learned from past socio-economic and cultural transformation
  18. spatial issues: planning, housing and the future of cities
  19. diversity and degrowth: class, race, gender, abilities
  20. sustainable development goals and degrowth
  21. conflict resolution processes and socio-ecological transformations
  22. biodiversity, ecosystem services, and sustainable livelihoods
  23. degrowth and social metabolism
  24. political economy and ecological economics/degrowth
  25. sustainable livelihoods and ecological sufficiency
  26. languages of valuation and ecological conflicts
  27. extractivism, environmental Justice and illicit activities
  28. social ecological economics and degrowth
  29. production, consumption and degrowth
  30. strategies for degrowth transformation: lessons from the Vienna conference