EDC Book Club: Slow Down by Kohei Saito

Join the EDC Book Club this month for a discussion of a new book on the degrowth movement by Japanese philosopher and political ecologist Kohei Saito, author of the highly influential Capital in the Anthropocene. Join EDC curators Michael Degani and Anand Pandian for a discussion of Saito’s new work Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto.

Wednesday, March 27th
2-3 PM ET
EDC Meeting Room

“Why, in our affluent society, do so many people live in poverty, without access to health care, working multiple jobs and are nevertheless unable to make ends meet, with no future prospects, while the planet is burning? Capitalism creates artificial scarcity by pursuing profit based on the value of products rather than their usefulness and by putting perpetual growth above all else. It is therefore impossible to reverse climate change in a capitalist society—more: the system that caused the problem in the first place cannot be an integral part of the solution. Instead, Saito advocates for degrowth and deceleration, which he conceives as the slowing of economic activity through the democratic reform of labor and production. By returning to a system of social ownership, he argues, we can restore abundance and focus on those activities that are essential for human life, effectively reversing climate change and saving the planet.”

For those who can’t join live that day, please share your thoughts via the discussion thread about the book in the EDC Book Club group. We’ll continue the conversation there. 

When buying such books online, please consider supporting independent booksellers through online shops like bookshop.org.

Stay tuned for another book conversation each month, and please join the EDC Book Club to take part in our discussions and share your own favorite reads!