The nuanced practice of degrowth in organisations

Our current mode of being in the world is unsustainable. To bring about a better society, i.e., one where each human being lives in harmony with oneself, others (humans and non-humans) and nature, and where humanity enacts such harmonious co-existence, transformation is necessary. Degrowth offers a vision of society and economy where such co-existence becomes possible. For degrowth to be manifested, every human being and every social entity needs to participate in transformation towards a degrowth society. This includes human organisations of various scales. What it means to be a degrowth compatible organisation remains subject to discussion. While various arguments exist, what appears to be the case is that the practice of degrowth in organisations is nuanced. This is especially so when the practice of degrowth is not seen in idealistic, static, and purely theoretical terms, but as ongoing in the real world-in-becoming, the open world with its complexities and imperfections. In this paper, coming from a critical realist perspective, I argue that prefiguration of degrowth in organisations is possible but should be seen as necessarily multi-dimensional. It should concern different levels of an organisation’s being-in-becoming. This multi-dimensionality should not be viewed as problematic or as overcomplicating the matter. Instead, it can be viewed as something to be recognised, appreciated, and engaged with. I conclude that despite the existing multi-dimensionality, common principles behind degrowth practice in organisations can be captured. One such principle is transcendence, i.e., a state of self-identification with the world beyond oneself.