Marxism’s 20th Century preoccupation with the working class (proletariat) versus the elite (bourgeoise) may be a tough sell in a cynical, post-globalized world — but climate crisis may have come to its rescue. At least that’s what Kohei Saito, an associate professor at Tokyo University and author of Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto, apparently hopes.

The so-called father of “Degrowth Communism” argues that Karl Marx was, in fact, a proponent of less is more. In any case, the planet is incapable of sustaining the endless expansionism characteristic of Capitalism as we have known it.

Fellow degrowth evangelist and anthropologist Jason Hickel, author of the book “Less Is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World.”, writes:

 “Degrowth is about reducing the material and energy throughput of the economy to bring it back into balance with the living world, while distributing income and resources more fairly, liberating people from needless work, and investing in the public goods that people need to thrive.”

More efficient and responsible use of natural resources isn’t a sticking point. It is the second assumption in the degrowth movement that raises red flags. After all, the innovations that gave rise to industrialization and globalization now sustain ~8 billion lives on this planet, however inequitable those lives are. Throw hundreds of years worth of growth into reverse and we won’t just live less materialistic lives; there will need to be far fewer of us to sustain quality of life!