Post-Growth Thinking in India
Towards Sustainable Egalitarian Alternatives
Edited by
Julien-François Gerber and Rajeswari S. Raina

The Indian sub-continent has long been involved in global capitalism. While some parts of India are like the Global North in terms of lifestyle and wealth, the majority is clearly part of the poor and exploited Global South.

As the state and the market became key actors in the economy, GDP growth has emerged as the central policy goal. Presently, as a rapidly growing economy with widening inequality and huge environmental problems, India needs to rethink its social–ecological transitions. Post-Growth Thinking in India discusses the relevance of ‘prosperity without growth’, or ‘post-growth’ for India, at a time when grassroots alternatives confront and question the consequences of growth.

‘Post-growth’ calls for a resizing and reorganisation of the social metabolism that would allow societies to live within their ecological means, and within democratic, equitable, and localised economies. This book presents diverse alternatives to the current growth-driven model of development.

The chapters in this book, some of which are Indian contributions to knowledge and policy, seek diverse alternatives to the current growth-driven model of development.

About the Editors

Julien-François Gerber is Assistant Professor of Environment and Development at the International Institute of Social Studies in The Hague, Netherlands, and is currently visiting faculty at the London School of Economics and Political Science.