Concepts such as the “green economy” or “smart growth” are being increasingly criticized because they aim to achieve sustainability primarily through technological efficiency gains and have not yet led to an absolute decoupling of economic growth and resource consumption. In contrast, the post-growth debate calls for more fundamental changes in production systems and consumption patterns. Sufficiency-oriented economic forms, which are not committed to material growth constraints and profit maximization, play an important role in this context and expand our understanding of the economy, work and prosperity. The lecture discusses conceptual and methodological opportunities and challenges for a post-growth-oriented economic geography.
