What Is Post-Growth Politics?
Post-growth is an umbrella term that refers to a broad family of economic, ecological, and political perspectives responding to the limits-to-growth dilemma—the recognition that infinite economic growth is… Part of the Green family.
Definition
Post-growth is an umbrella term that refers to a broad family of economic, ecological, and political perspectives responding to the limits-to-growth dilemma—the recognition that infinite economic growth is biophysically unsustainable on a finite planet.
Definition quoted from Wikipedia: Post-growth (text available under CC BY-SA 4.0; checked October 20, 2026).
Core ideas
- Prosperity without growth.
- Ecological limits.
- Resilient public services and well-being measures.
Associated thinkers and leaders
Tim Jackson
Core ideas, origins and thinkers: Atlas summary.
Where Post-Growth Politics sits on the Atlas maps
| Map dimension | Score (0–100) | Position | Reading |
|---|---|---|---|
| Economic Collective / planned ↔ Market | 38 | near the center | |
| Social Progressive ↔ Traditional | 18 | toward progressive | |
| Authority Libertarian ↔ Authoritarian | 30 | toward libertarian | |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 28 | toward cosmopolitan | |
| Foreign policy Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 16 | toward non-intervention |
All nine underlying dimensions
| Dimension | Score | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| Economic ownership Collective ownership ↔ Private ownership | 46 | near the center |
| Civil liberties Civil liberty ↔ State restrictions | 40 | near the center |
| National identity Cosmopolitan ↔ Nationalist | 28 | toward cosmopolitan |
| Social and cultural values Progressive ↔ Traditionalist | 19 | toward progressive |
| Political governance Democratic ↔ Autocratic | 20 | toward democratic |
| Equality and hierarchy Egalitarian ↔ Hierarchical | 26 | toward egalitarian |
| Economic management Free market ↔ State planning | 73 | toward state planning |
| Military intervention Non-intervention ↔ Intervention | 16 | toward non-intervention |
| Religion and government Secular state ↔ Religious authority | 17 | toward secular state |
These positions are estimates on the Atlas’s nine-dimension scale, produced by running the tradition’s core principles through the same questions and scoring used for test-takers. They are interpretations for comparison, not objective measurements. How scores are made.
Estimated positions on key questions
| Statement | Position | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Religious doctrine should take precedence over civil law when they conflict. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Opposition parties should be free to compete in elections. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| People should be free to criticize the government without fear of legal punishment. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Preserving a historic national majority is a legitimate immigration objective. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Same-sex couples should have the same right to marry as opposite-sex couples. | Strongly agrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Society works best when established social hierarchies are respected. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Military power should be used proactively when serious external threats are emerging. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| The means of production should ultimately be owned collectively. | Disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Regulations on business should be minimized whenever possible. | Strongly disagrees | estimated from doctrine |
| Reducing the gap between rich and poor should be a major government goal. | Agrees | estimated from doctrine |
Related ideologies
Main differences from the closest ideologies
- Compared with Green Politics, Post-Growth Politics sits 6 points further toward traditional on the social dimension.
- Compared with Social Democracy, Post-Growth Politics sits 20 points further toward non-intervention on the foreign policy dimension.
- Compared with Degrowth, Post-Growth Politics sits 13 points further toward market on the economic dimension.
Figures with the closest estimated positions
Closeness of estimated positions only; this does not mean these people identify with Post-Growth Politics.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Post-growth
- Wikipedia: Post-Growth Politics (Wikipedia search)
- Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Environmental Ethics
Position last reviewed: not yet reviewed individually.