Slow Down

Published Jan. 9, 2024 by Astra House.

ISBN:: 978-1-6626-0236-8

(1 review)

Why, in our affluent society, do so many people live in poverty, without access to health care, working multiple jobs and are nevertheless unable to make ends meet, with no future prospects, while the planet is burning?

In his international bestseller, Kohei Saito argues that while unfettered capitalism is often blamed for inequality and climate change, subsequent calls for “sustainable growth” and a “Green New Deal” are a dangerous compromise. Capitalism creates artificial scarcity by pursuing profit based on the value of products rather than their usefulness and by putting perpetual growth above all else. It is therefore impossible to reverse climate change in a capitalist society—more: the system that caused the problem in the first place cannot be an integral part of the solution.

Instead, Saito advocates for degrowth and deceleration, which he conceives as the slowing of economic activity through the democratic reform of labor and production. In …

Why, in our affluent society, do so many people live in poverty, without access to health care, working multiple jobs and are nevertheless unable to make ends meet, with no future prospects, while the planet is burning?

In his international bestseller, Kohei Saito argues that while unfettered capitalism is often blamed for inequality and climate change, subsequent calls for “sustainable growth” and a “Green New Deal” are a dangerous compromise. Capitalism creates artificial scarcity by pursuing profit based on the value of products rather than their usefulness and by putting perpetual growth above all else. It is therefore impossible to reverse climate change in a capitalist society—more: the system that caused the problem in the first place cannot be an integral part of the solution.

Instead, Saito advocates for degrowth and deceleration, which he conceives as the slowing of economic activity through the democratic reform of labor and production. In practical terms, he argues for:

the end of mass production and mass consumption
decarbonization through shorter working hours
the prioritization of essential labor over corporate profits

By returning to a system of social ownership, he argues, we can restore abundance and focus on those activities that are essential for human life, effectively reversing climate change and saving the planet.

1 edition

Ika Makimaki reviewed Slow Down by Kōhei Saitō

Essential reading

5 stars

It has been a while since a book so accurately responded to my deepest worries. I had heard the name of Kohei Saito but never approached his writing before. This book is amazing, clear and easy to read but also profound and dare I say it, truly revolutionary. Saito is a Marxist scholar, and in this book he approaches the climate and environmental crisis through Marxism and proposes Degrowth Communism as the solution for human civilisation to survive. His argument is cogent. He starts out by debunking the myth of green growth and argues why capitalism is ill suited to respond to the needs of our time. He then writes how Marx himself had arrived to the idea of degrowth communism (although likely never actually called it that way) as he got older and his unpublished notes and research prove this evolution in his thought. The book closes by showing …

It has been a while since a book so accurately responded to my deepest worries. I had heard the name of Kohei Saito but never approached his writing before. This book is amazing, clear and easy to read but also profound and dare I say it, truly revolutionary. Saito is a Marxist scholar, and in this book he approaches the climate and environmental crisis through Marxism and proposes Degrowth Communism as the solution for human civilisation to survive. His argument is cogent. He starts out by debunking the myth of green growth and argues why capitalism is ill suited to respond to the needs of our time. He then writes how Marx himself had arrived to the idea of degrowth communism (although likely never actually called it that way) as he got older and his unpublished notes and research prove this evolution in his thought. The book closes by showing paths away from capitalism, form simple actions like building cooperative associations of workers and consumers and banning private jets, to more systemic changes like municipalism and the elimination of things like advertising. I was blown away by the clarity of his ideas. Many times while reading I had to take a little break and sit with the concepts, because it is a plausible solution for the biggest crises we face. I consider it essential reading and will certainly be returning to it in the future.

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