Degrowth through Knowledge-Based Development

Social Flourishing in the Anthropocene

Francisco Javier Carrillo author

Format:Hardback

Publisher:Taylor & Francis Ltd

Published:15th May '25

£135.00

Supplier delay - available to order, but may not be available until after 6th August 2026.

Degrowth through Knowledge-Based Development cover

This book tackles the terms under which a knowledge-based society can indefinitely improve while pursuing an eco-economic steady state. In doing so, it addresses the literature gap on continued social improvement within a post-growth economic and cultural paradigm.

Carrillo consolidates research on the Degrowth paradigm and proposes a conceptual framework for continued social improvement based on the integration of tangible and intangible collective values. He proposes a method that accounts for effective social value through capital systems valuation and development and includes this operational metric system as an alternative to the metric of Gross National Product (GNP). The book critically examines the challenges of identifying a complete and consistent representation of total social value. The book also includes a series of knowledge-based development programmes in cities and regions around the world and discusses policies and practices for urban mitigation and adaptation to the Anthropocene.

This transdisciplinary book will be of particular interest to researchers of degrowth economics, sustainable development, and urban planning.

"Degrowth through Knowledge-Based Development is a spirited proposal for building an alternative social pathway, based on the principles of shared knowledge and sufficiency. Carrillo redefines progress for the 21st century, showing us how valuing intangible assets -especially knowledge - as a global commons can help societies sustainably flourish."

Jeffrey Althouse, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, France

"What would qualitative development without quantitative growth look like? This book articulates a vision of knowledge-based development, one where human societies improve their wellbeing through shared knowledge, while staying within their planetary boundaries."

Giorgos Kallis, ICREA Professor, ICTA-UAB, Spain

"Carrillo argues persuasively that the adaptive challenges of the Anthropocene can be met only through degrowth—deliberately shrinking human society’s flows of matter and energy; further, that degrowth can have acceptable outcomes only via knowledge-based development (shifting from obtaining value through material consumption to value based on cultural richness)."

Richard Heinberg, Post Carbon Institute, USA

ISBN: 9781032765839

Dimensions: unknown

Weight: 670g

266 pages