Sammendrag
It remains a consistent problem within academia, particularly in the social sciences and humanities, that theory and practice are at odds. This also rings true regarding degrowth solutions to the environmental and social crises. Discourse within this interdisciplinary field is largely removed from the solutions and alternatives that many are creating for themselves. To bring degrowth down from abstraction, there is much to learn from previous and contemporary movements and struggles that are and have occurred in direct conflict with the industries and powers that degrowth so regularly criticizes. A method for this is to broaden citations beyond academia. To move beyond academic discussions of degrowth and to get a glimpse into the underworld of alternatives, ecoanarchist ‘zines’, or small-circulation self-published-information-spreading booklets, provide a window into countercultures’ prefigurative politics for a more socially and ecologically just future. Building knowledge from these practices and experiences, the thesis wonders whether degrowth can struggle alongside them or, is it doomed to remain solely a conceptual theory for armchair academics to rub their chins over. This thesis begins by framing the ecological crisis in terms of the modern dominant onto-epistemology of universalism. A literature review provides a conceptualization of degrowth pathways followed by a background chapter that provides a conceptualization of ecoanarchism. Drawing from tensions within degrowth literature, this text uses the theoretical framework of Wright’s (2010) three logics of transformation – symbiotic, interstitial, and ruptural. Though degrowth proponents emphasize the importance of all three, the literature tends strongly toward symbiotic modes of transformation which emphasizes working alongside state institutions. From the background, ecoanarchism demonstrates the potential for significant contributions regarding theoretical and practical applications of ruptural and interstitial modes of transformation – opposing and working outside of state institutions. The analysis looks at contemporary ecoanarchist zines to contribute to the potential for interstitial and ruptural degrowth pathways.