DEGROWTH AND A-GROWTH: SUSTAINABILITY ALTERNATIVES TO THE GREEN GROWTH APPROACH

both desirable and possible. According to Roegen any economy is permanently physically limited by the supply of low-entropy matter and energy as a source for raw materials and as a sink for our wastes. The only possible long-term source for low-entropy energy is the sun and even this is available at a limited rate of flow. An attempt at steady-state economics (as espoused by Herman Daley) would be a significant improvement over the present situation, but would still not be possible in the very long run because of limitations on the supply of low-entropy raw materials such as metal ores. Roegen's point of view is fundamentally in conflict with current economics, but we ignore his arguments at our peril. In the not terribly distant future we will run up against the limits that Roegen warns of. The book is dense and difficult, but the concepts are extremely important... More readable books on the subject are "Beyond Growth" and "Steady-State Economics" by Herman Daley. Da <https://www.amazon.com/Entropy-Law-Economic-Process/dp/0674281640> Georgescu-roegen e la Bioeconomia> parte analizzando il concetto di entropia! Usato in modo "scientista" come valore matematico??, ma che per alcuni è più un 'complesso e profondo concetto epistemologico' (cit filosofia ed ecologia 1998) This thesis explores two alternative approaches to sustainability that diverge from the prevailing view of the necessity of unlimited economic growth as the foundation of human wellbeing: degrowth and a-growth. These paradigms contrast in the field of sustainability with the mainstream model of Green Growth, which has been defined ineffective in addressing the climate crisis and limiting environmental degradation, jeopardising the ability of future generations to enjoy the benefits and resources enjoyed by past and present generations by maintaining economic growth as main goal of politics. The Green Growth approach to sustainability has in fact privileged the pursuing of economic growth and productionrather than facing social and environmental inequalities, with serious repercussions on collective wellbeing and ecological balance. This thesis analysis the differences between these alternative approaches to sustainability Degrowth and A-growth), based on different conceptions of wellbeing, growth and development. This thesis is also going to explore the relationship between humans and the environment, analysing different interpretations of ‘growth’ and ‘development’ and how they influence the creation of policies for sustainability and social relations. In the first chapter, degrowth is examined, starting from the first critiques of the liberal and capitalist socio-economic system through the analysis of Serge Latouche, then delving into the radical and innovative proposal of Kohei Saito's ‘Degrowth Communism’. In the second chapter, the analysis focuses on the a-growth approach, which proposes agnosticism toward growth, namely the exclusion of economic (GDP) growth from environmental and social decision-making processes, prioritisisng socio-political feasibility and ecological efficiency. Finally, the thesis offers a comparison between these two approaches, examining the differences between the policies proposed to halt the environmental crisis and orient societies towards a sustainable future.