1. A cultural change for economic, environmental and social change
Luca Madiai
July 2012 creazione.valore@gmail.com
http://creazionedivalore.blogspot.it/

2. The current system is in crisis
 Enviroment
 Increasing evironmental impact
 Fossil resources (limiteted and concetrated)
 Climate change
 Economics
 Difficulties to continue to grow
 Unemployment
 deregulation and offshoring market
 financial speculation
 Social
 Social differences in growth (poor-rich)
 Uncertainty, disappointment, fear
 Depression, stress, suicide, violence, racism

3. Approach to the problem
Question:
Thinking of approaching the various issues with
dedicated strategies without considering their strong
interdependence, acting with the same methods that
created them?
therefore
Aim always on economic growth?

4. How can we continue to grow?
Possible solutions to the question:
1. Seek new resources in other planets (space
colonization);
2. Relying on the discovery of new technologies and
energy sources with unlimited potential and no
harmful effects;
3. Destroy in order to reconstruct (wars and disasters)

5. Are we really sure?
In general, growth is now given as the cure for all
problems: global warming, unemployment, financial
crisis, divide the north/south, social problems
New examples of growth: Green economy, sustainable
development
but…

6. Economic growth makes us happier?
«Several studies suggest that people
living in countries with very high
energy consumption are often less
happy than people living in countries
with lower energy use»
«Quality of life and energy
consumption are strictly correlated
during basic economic development of
a country, but they are not correlated
in affluent nations»
From “Energy for a sustainable world”
Extract from“Manifesto per la felicit{”
di Nicola Armaroli, Vincenzo Balzani
di Stefano Bartolini (2009)

7. Economic growth is possible in a
finite world?
 The layer of atmosphere is
very thin (12 km
troposphere, the Earth
diameter than 12000 km);
 The Earth is a closed
system (only radiation
from space and from the
Sun);
 Impossible Hamster:
video

8. Science and technology can solve
all the problems?
“Una fede cieca nella scienza è incoscienza” L.M.
“A blind faith in science is unconsciousness”

9. “Turn off the tap”
"When your bathroom is flooded, is sufficient to dry on the
ground?"
asks Persanyi Miklos, former Hungarian Minister of
Environment.
"Personally, I begin with closing the tap"
 Quit a socio-economic system based on following of
economic growth (GDP)
 Undertake the direction of a “Happy Degrowth" as
alternative socio-economic model (because happy?)

10. Sense of limits and sense of possibility
Growth is not the solution, but in reality is the cause
We need new cultural paradigms
Sense of limits Sense of possibility
 "According to the fundamental
law of thermodynamics, the
 "The ability to design
heritage of mankind is limited,"
experiences that have as their
says Gergescu-Roegen
reference point the achievement
 awareness of the limits of finite of better conditions of life" or
materials and resources accessible "the ability to design changes,
and usable that is, the alternative"
 awaken in themselves the sense of [Bartolini]
limits coincides with perceiving
the true nature of our existence in
 awareness that the economic
this world, means to appreciate
and social environment is a
and enjoy our life without
human product, and as such can
imposing on it and on the
be oriented towards the welfare
environment that sustains us

11. Happy Degrowth in 5 points
1. Self-production and
exchange
2. Localization
3. Sobriety
4. Energy and Technology
5. Non-violence and
human relations

12. Self-production and exchange
 Self-produce (return to land, recover skills)
 Manual ability and creativity (to recover, restore,
repair, reuse, recycle)
 Install small renewable energy systems: depending on
local resources and the specific characteristics of the
site
 Create groups of exchanfge and aid based on
neighborhood relations
 Take your time to assist children and elderly person in
a reciprocal way

13. Localization
 Local economy: production-services-job
 Local resources (agriculture, renewable energy,
cultural)
 Valuing tradition and local knowledge
 Enhance local cultural and artistic heritage
 Rethinking the distribution and transport in a local
way
 Supplementary local currency
 Promote sociability and relationships not based on
money
 Rethinking life on a “human” scale

14. Sobriety
 Changing lifestyles and mentalities
 No need to make sacrifices "The reality is that on average
more than half the energy
 Reduce, Repair, Reuse, Recover, consumed by Europe's citizen
Slowing need to heat the rooms in
which he lives, and nearly
 Question certain concepts: poverty- another third is used to power
sobriety, abundance-wealth, easy- its cars. The first thing to do
then is put on a sweater and
outdated, limit-obstacle, lower from 21 to 19 degrees
commodity-good, cheap-convinient the temperature of the house,
which reduces fuel
 Simple, small, genuine consumption up to 20% for
 Responsible attitude towards heating and saves a lot of
money on gas bill “
themselves, others and the
environment Armaroli, Balzani
 Sobriety as a means for better living

15. Energy and Technology
 Promote policies for energy
conservation and efficiency
 Policy support for research
projects and construction of
renewable energy technology
with low environmental
impact of small scale and local
use
 Develop the use of a simplified
technology for the production
of large-scale use, associated
with the strong reduction of
refuse and waste "The energy crisis can not be overcome with
a surplus of energy. It can only be dissolved,
 The technological complexity along with the illusion that makes the well-
is not always advantageous being depend on the number of energy
slaves a man has "
Ivan Illich

16. Non-violence and human relations
 encourage the development of direct human relations
based on dialogue, sharing and exchange
 a society based on cooperation instead of competition,
 reduce the role of some “social disruptive” objects (TV,
internet, phone, car),
 facilitate socialization, respect differences of all kinds
 resolve conflicts through peaceful dialogue and
exchanges
 reference to the principles of non-violence (self-
government) in any situation.

17. Why do not we change?
 To make a real change of system is not enough to know
where to go
 A different society based on respect, fairness, dignity
needs a basic condition
 What needs to change in parallel, is not only our
lifestyle, our mentality, our economic and social
model. We need a reform of the human spirit.

18. Human Revolution
"Through a transformation of inner
 Transform our “little-self", spiritual people can awaken to a
which is a narrow and true sense of the sacredness of life,
limited view of reality, in which contrasts with the
indifference and distrust of
the "great-self" by opening existence that are at the root of all
our lives to the immense the errors of contemporary society.
This inner transformation is thus
potential at its origin the basis for achieving both
individual happiness and a peaceful
society
 Working on ourself,
changing our inner
condition to real happiness

19. Principle of oneness
 No separation of life and environment is the basic
principle of ecology
 The environment and life are two aspects of the same
reality (save the planet?)
 Only by transforming ourselves we can affect our
environment (to activate the environment)
“Be the change you wish to see”
M. Gandhi

20. Circolo MDF di Firenze
Born: 1° april 2012
Four groups of activities:
 Know how to do university - Retrieve the know-how-to-do,
discover techniques and practices go out of use, repair, reuse, build
 Study and discussion - Discussion of issues related to the
degrowth and its philosophy, through the study, the comparison,
the debate, the design of projects and proposals.
 Transition Town - How in the city we can create an alternative life,
consisting of sustainability, sociability, conviviality, public gardens,
energy saving, waste reduction, wise use of resources.
 Education – Degrowth by “teaching” the younger, education as a
creative act of a new culture. Activities with children and school.

21. Contacts
Contatti del Circolo MDF di Firenze
Email: info@mdf-firenze.it
Web: http://mdf-firenze.it
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/decrescitafelice/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/decrescitafi
Personal contacts
Luca Madiai
creazione.valore@gmail.com
http://creazionedivalore.blogspot.it/

22. Links
 Economics of happiness
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Xjr0gqJK0&featur
e=related
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkdnFYDbiBE
 Impossible Hamster
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sqwd_u6HkMo
 The story of stuff
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLBE5QAYXp8