Although the concept of degrowth has been present in the global scientific community already for several decades, it is not present in the scientific discourse in Slovenia. The purpose of this article is to introduce the concept of degrowth. Sustainable degrowth is defined as the downscaling of production and consumption, which increases human well-being and enhances ecological conditions and equity on the planet. It calls for a future where societies live within their ecological means, with open, localized economies and resources more equally distributed through new forms of democratic institutions (Research and degrowth, 2015). Sustainable degrowth is a multi-faceted political project that aspires to mobilize support for a change of direction, at the macrolevel of economic and political institutions, and at the micro level of personal values and aspirations. Income and material comfort is to be reduced for many along the way, but the goal is that this is not experienced as welfare loss (Kallis, 2011). To make an introduction to the topic of degrowth, the article sketches the social, economic, and environmental limits to growth, briefly summarizes the different definitions of the degrowth concept, presents a rough framework for degrowth in practice, and discusses the possibility of implementing degrowth in today’s complex world. The article summarizes the key pieces of existing literature in the field of degrowth.
