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Title: “Décroissance” and Anarchy
Date: 2006
Source: Retrieved on 2020-04-02 from [[http://www.i-f-a.org.gridhosted.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/anarkiista_debato.pdf][www.i-f-a.org]]
Authors: Fédération Anarchiste, Clément
Topics: France, IAF, Anarchist Federation (France)
Published: 2020-04-03 08:33:10Z

The concept of «décroissance» has

lately become fashionable, even among

anarchists, with the recent publication

of a brochure in the FA on the topic. It

is being discussed at length by many.

What I want to emphasize today, is not

the necessity to practice «décroissance»,

but how to effectively put it into

practice, in our everyday lives. Too

often I heard people say that the answer

is easy: we should consume less. Some

even go as far as praising poverty and

self-restraint. But that is not all, and if

we linger on this idea, we won’t

understand the whole notion of

«décroissance».

As a matter of fact, is it really necessary

to go back to the days when human

beings lived in caves? Is that what

«décroissance» is all about? On the

contrary, most people wish to lead a

relatively comfortable life, and who can

blame them? Consuming less will not

solve anything: what is the use of

buying just one pair of shoes, if the pair

of shoes was made by children at the

other end of the world, and if we buy it

in a supermarket? That surely is no

«décroissance»... There is, behind the

concept, an economic and political

system. The real problem is capitalism !

Thus, questioning consumption without

questioning production: where are

things produced? by whom? how? in

what conditions? — means we do not

question the capitalist operating mode

(production–distribution-consumption).

Even more so, we accept the necessity –

or fatality – behind it...

The noxious perversity of this system is

that it has established constraints that

ensure its own survival: the idea is to

create acts of mass consumption, as

well as the apparent need to satisfy

them in order to live decently. And

consumption itself, even if it is very

little, is the best guarantee that the

system will survive. Indeed, although

we curse and plague the Medef (the

bosses’ union in France) and those in

power, nothing will change if we do not

get involved in the effective alteration

of this system. Not only do we not

question it, but we allow it to regenerate

itself by supporting it ! Shall we find the

strength to stop buying from Auchan or

Carrefour supermarkets, McDonald’s,

Elf, Total, Nike, Microsoft etc.?

So, what shall we do? The idea is that

people themselves should decide on

what they want to produce, how they

want to produce it, and also why, and

for whom, where, etc. Locally, they

decide on what lifestyle they want: they

are open-eyed and active actors of their

mode of

own

lives.

This

organization is much less energy

wasting; an end to super production.

There would be less transportation

of goods, more collective discussions

on the production modes – which

would pollute less.

We must therefore go further: we

should think of the anarchist

organization mode as the only way to

“décroître” harmoniously, once we are

rid of the capitalist monster! We should

also defend the idea that the

libertarian

society

healthy

ecologically, realistic economically, fair

and equal socially, and is inscribed

within the humanist frame of

“décroissance”.

So the point is not to stop consuming,

but rather to produce and consume

better. In order to frighten the capitalist

system, we should be able to give

ourselves the means – in spite of the

obstacles– to get a libertarian society

working; let’s take our responsibilities!

Let me insist: the anarchist society

project is coherent and attainable! Let’s

create, invent and get involved in local

alternative networks of production and

distribution,

which

smack

“décroissance”. We want to define

together what we want to consume and

how to produce this according to our

principles and ecological constraints.

Let’s use the tools and production

means to make them fit people’s needs

wherever they live. And let’s not take

“But there is no such thing in my town

as an autonomous and self-catering

network now” for an answer. For giving

1€ to alternative systems and giving 1€

to the capitalists do not have the same

political value: we vote everyday by

consuming!

In France, for example, there are

associations of small farmers and

nearby

consumers,

AMAP

(Association for the maintenance of

peasant agriculture). Together they

decide beforehand on what and how

they will produce and distribute;

meanwhile the consumers make a

promise to buy the production, thus

enabling the farmers to free themselves

from the policies that ensnare and stifle

them. The benefits are twofold: first,

it enables the small farmers to

survive, even though the capital has

programmed to destroy them; secondly,

it greatly reduces the waste of

energy and food which is the usual side-effect of industrial –and chemical–

production, of transport and storage.

So the system is directly attacked where

it hurts most! No more intermediaries,

just people self-organizing... And this

type of initiatives can be conceived and

created for all sorts of productions.

These examples of alternatives can

become a real answer, completely anti-capitalist, ecological and realistic. Yet if

we do not get involved in such

initiatives, there is a risk they will

absorbed

the

system.

Indeed, these AMAP are based on

nearly libertarian principles, but are in

the hand of the association Alliance

PEC – which does not particularly like

libertarians. If we are not careful, these

initiatives could very well become the

new fashion for bourgeois to feel ‘closer

to the people’... It is the same with SEL

(System of local exchange) and any

other sort of local alternative.

So the thing is, to not only stop buying

stuff from chain stores and big

producers, but also to put into practice,

as soon as possible and as much as

possible, a positive and efficient

organization of society. Let’s help to the

implement of an anarchist organization

of society by creating and supporting

local alternative networks of production

and distribution, of recycling and

exchange, as well as friendly meeting

places, like libraries, squats, self-managed kitchens, free services, lessons

etc.

What is very interesting is that these

networks attract a lot of people who are

not militants: anarchy is too beautiful

for people not to be seduced!

It is our role as anarchists to show that,

through practice, a libertarian society is

attainable and sustainable (!!!). This

libertarian society is the only means to

achieve both individual and collective

comfort, and “décroissance”. The more

we act, the more coherent we get!

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