Fu­ture wi­t­hout growth? — Pro­s­pects for a sus­tainable eco­no­my

The spe­cial ex­hi­bi­ti­on “Fu­ture wi­t­hout growth? — The eco­no­my bet­ween cli­ma­te ca­ta­stro­phe and so­cial di­vi­si­on” at the Her­ren­wyk In­dus­tri­al Mu­se­um ad­dres­ses the con­tro­ver­si­al is­sues of our time: How can eco­no­mic pro­spe­ri­ty be re­con­ci­led wi­th eco­lo­gi­cal re­spon­si­bi­li­ty and so­cial ju­s­ti­ce? The ex­hi­bi­ti­on is de­di­ca­ted to the li­mits of clas­sic eco­no­mic growth — in­spi­red by the le­gen­da­ry “The Li­mits to Growth” — and sheds light on our con­sump­ti­on of re­sour­ces, which far ex­ceeds the ca­pa­ci­ty of our pla­net. It be­co­mes clear that bo­th glo­bal and do­me­stic ine­qua­li­ties are rein­forced by our life­style and con­su­mer be­ha­viour.

The ex­hi­bi­ti­on in­vi­tes vi­si­tors to think about fu­ture sce­na­ri­os wi­t­hout the pres­su­re to grow: what is chan­ging in our working world, what skills are nee­ded for a sus­tainable eco­no­my and what does a life wi­th less ma­te­ri­al con­sump­ti­on look li­ke? Par­ti­cu­lar­ly ex­ci­ting are the re­flec­tions on how de­ce­le­ra­ti­on and in­creased qua­li­ty of life could shape new so­cial mo­dels. Vi­si­tors can en­ga­ge in a dis­cur­si­ve thought ex­pe­ri­ment and are en­cou­ra­ged to un­der­stand the prin­ci­ples of a post-growth eco­no­my and de­ve­lop their own vi­si­ons for a fai­rer and mo­re sus­tainable fu­ture.