Good life beyond growth

Bibliographic Data

ID23176554
AuthorsHartmut Rosa (0000-0001-8030-7405), Christoph Henning (0000-0003-1860-0875)
Year2017
Pages1-14
Publication date2017-08-15
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueGood Life Beyond Growth (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherRoutledge (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.4324/9781315542126-1
OpenAlexW2904659140
ISBN9781315542126
LanguageEN
Citations received13
References cited1

The function of the economy and of democratic politics should be to allow for a good life for people, to better, not to worsen their situation. Economic growth is not only a play with numbers over time, it is a concept deeply engrained in the social imaginaries and socio-economic structures of Western, post-1945 societies. By reducing social conflicts, the prospect of steady economic growth also justified the privatisation of the good life. The society is considered modern when it operates in a mode of 'dynamic stabilisation', i.e. when it systematically requires growth, innovation and acceleration for its structural reproduction and in order to maintain its socio-economic and institutional status quo. The capitalistic mode of production is a central motor, but dynamic stabilisation extends well beyond the economic sphere. This chapter provides an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book.

Political Economy and Marxism · Psychology

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