I’ve been tried reading about how degrowth can safe the planet - personally I don’t buy stuff I don’t need, uses public transport extensively, etc. it happens to me naturally - But I don’t see how people and countries can apply degrowth without fear that others in our capitalist world would take advantage.
For example. let’s say the suddenly the UK decided to degeowth and stop making so much investments into the industrial sector. The international investments would simply go to countries that would accept the investments. It feels like degrowth is stuck in a prisoner’s dilemma. And there’s no obvious way around it.
How can this be solved?
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Don’t have prisoners all have the same preconditions?
With degrowth, in theory at least, growing poorer countries could get richer while degrowing richer countries would lose nothing.
So look at the drug war, war on terrorism, money laundering sanctions, international tax evasion measures. The US and EU basically force the world to comply.
Imagine the EU and US are fully on board and say Australia decides no. What would happen to the Australian economy if they suddenly were barred from trading the dollar and euro. Australia is a big country and would be on the US/EU side. Imagine if Mexico or Croatia tried that. No chance.
Extreme? We did that to Russia during the Ukraine invasion.
This isn’t difficult. They just don’t care enough.
