This piece examines the literature relevant to degrowth at the system-level and deconsumption at the individual-level. I identify gaps in the literature and propose areas for future research as part of my PhD thesis to bridge the divide between these concepts, specifically using psychological and behavioural science. As sustainable consumption research increasingly calls for a more structural approach to reducing environmental consequences of consumer behaviour (Abson et al., 2017), it is necessary to develop a better understanding of the role of consumers in a degrowth agenda. In developed countries, sustainable consumption is defined as: “where resource use is more excessive, wasteful and inefficient, the emphasis is on altering consumption patterns to achieve reduced overall material and energy use, as well as reduced intensity per unit of functional utility” (Cohen et al., 2009). This definition reveals the need for a marked reduction in their consumption and production patterns, as their excessive growth operates outside earth’s resource limits and drives the entire planet closer to environmental devastation (e.g., Jackson, 2009).

The concept of degrowth is a critique of the growth mandate imposed by capitalism, seeking instead to contract the economy and reduce throughput while providing social policies that support enhanced welfare in the downscaling transition, combatting consumerism whilst raising the standard of living for the less affluent (Kasser, 2017; Kallis, 2011; ven den Bergh & Kallis, 2012). Individuals may seek to break this stronghold of postmodern consumerism themselves through a conscious reduction in the volume of goods and services they consume, toward a lifestyle of deconsumption. While a central tenet of degrowth is that individuals should not bear the brunt of responsibility for the problems associated with current overconsumption, degrowth research often wholly neglects any indication of how individual consumption decisions may factor into the broader economic and policy agenda. Degrowth must not neglect the behaviour change implications of its agenda, nor ignore consumer behaviour as a potential driving force toward achieving its aims within affluent economies. Synthesizing these concepts can also expand a fundamentally limited individual-level approach to sustainable consumption to produce the system-level changes required for averting climate devastation (Jackson, 2009; Lorek & Fuchs, 2013).

Citations referenced here are included in the reference list of the full document.

This complete work is available upon request.