Small, local, and low-tech firms as agents of sustainable change

With severe ecological degradation unfolding, the strong sustainability approach underpinned by ecological economics calls for a post-growth vision of the economy. This chapter adopts a philosophical perspective of critical realism and argues that such a vision of the economy does not arise on its own. It is the result of intentional transformation of structures by agents, the result of sustainable change. The chapter proposes small, local, and low-tech firms as agents of sustainable change. Such agency needs to be operationalized, which should be done via the development of the moral agency of individuals. The chapter warns that sustainable change is not an easy undertaking, since agents are constrained by structures which operate against it. It concludes that it is not merely concrete practices, but moral agency and the values and world views of individuals that need to receive more attention in investigating sustainable change and bringing about a post-growth world.