We have an active core of organizers surrounded by a broader community which is joining our events and reading our newsletter. We emerged from academia (ETH Zürich) but are open to anyone who is interested in exploring alternative models of organizing society in a growth-independent way!

• Follow us on Instagram.

• Sign up to our newsletter to stay up to date on our events and projects and receive a small virtual bookshelf of recommended resources to explore the topic.

• Join our community where we exchange resources and have a space for lively debates.

• Join our onboarding chat if you would like to become part of our organizing group. Everyone is welcome!

• Or contact us via email

Please reach out to us if you are interested in a collaboration!

May 2026 (1)

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December 2025

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September 2025

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29 May 2025

14 May 2025

30 April 2025

10 April 2025

• About anti-colonial politics of degrowth

• About imperialist appropriation of resources

• By Disaster or Design: How finance can evolve to avoid the worst of the ecological challenges we face and enable the transition to a better economic model

• Green growth vs degrowth: are we missing the point?

• Holism and the reconstitution of everyday life: a framework for transition to a sustainable society

• How Unequal Exchange Shapes Our World

• Identifying leverage points in the social housing system: Housing associations on the path towards degrowth?

• On non-reformist reforms and partial political settlements in degrowth strategy (Giuseppe Feola, former Deep Dive speaker)

Books

• Braiding Sweetgrass - Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants (Robin Wall Kimmerer)

• Die Vier-in-einem-Perspektive (Frigga Haug)

• Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World (Jason Hickel)

• Marx in the Anthropocene: Towards the Idea of Degrowth Communism (Kohei Saito)

• Slow Down: How Degrowth Communism can Save the Earth (Kohei Saito)

• Slow Down or Die (Timothée Parrique) (he was once panelist at one of our panels)

• Tätig sein in einer Postwachstumsgesellschaft (Irmi Seidl, Angelika Zahrnt)

• This Changes Everything (Naomi Klein)

• Towards Convivial Sciences (Ephraim Pörtner, Tamara Lebrecht) (Ephraim was once speaker at a Deep Dive)

• Escape from Capitalism - An Intervention (Clara E. Mattei)

• The Future is Degrowth - A Guide to a World Beyond Capitalism (Matthias Schmelzer)

Databases

• Degrowth Database

• Postwachstumvortragsreihe Archiv

• Explore Degrowth

• Degrowth Policies

• Zürich Unbezahlbar: free and non-commercial infrastructure and events in Zurich

Newsletters

• Matt Orsagh shares well-reflected, critical and often philosophical thoughts on degrowth

• Kyla Scanlon (creates accessible and fun economics education for current and future generations; rather US-centric but still highly relevant)

Wellbeing Economy Policy: This course takes you on a world tour to see how governments are putting wellbeing economy principles into practice. Whether working at a local, regional or (inter)national level, you’ll be equipped and inspired with tools and examples to help drive holistic, inclusive and sustainable policy development.

Games

Postgrowth Toolkit: Artist- and scientist-made board game to help us "reshuffle our world-views through a compilation of stories, concepts and tactics in order to stimulate new modes of understanding in the context of current environmental crises"

Repair Cafes

Find a repair cafe in your area and fix your broken stuff!

• Capitalism is not natural - it's enforced (37min)

• Could 'degrowth' save the world? (21min)

• Participative Supermarkets (4min)

• How to Save the Planet: Degrowth vs Green Growth? (93min)

• Free Food for All? Valuing Food as a Commons (80min)

• Tax Wars: Krieg der Steuern (in German) (94min)

• The economics of happiness (65min)

• Life after growth (25min)

• Fairytales of growth (47min)

• Monbiot vs Savory debate (90min)

• Kaufen für die Müllhalde: Geplante Obsoleszenz (in German) (74min)

• Food Coop (Trailer)

• Scars of growth (Trailer)

• Outgrow the system (Trailer)

• Priceless forests (Trailer)

• This Changes Everything (Trailer, 97min)

• Oeconomia: Spielregeln des Kapitalismus - ein Aufklärungsfilm über den Zusammenhang zwischen Wirtschaftswachstum, Verschuldung und Vermögenskonzentration. (German, 1h 23min)

• Beyond the Fix: Julia Steinberger on Fixing the Economy with Green Growth by Critical Scientists Switzerland

• Circular Metabolism Podcast by Aristide Athanassiadis (English and French)

• Planet: Critical by Rachel Donald

  • Degrowing Healthcare

  • The Thermodynamics of Degrowth

  • Debunking Green Growth

• Postgrowth City Podcast

• The Great Simplification with Nate Hagens

  • The Future is Local: Bioregioning 101

  • The Myths Shaping Our Economies

  • Why True Wealth Means More Than Money

• Future Histories International

  • Matt Huber & Kohei Saito on Growth, Progress and Left Imaginaries

• Spannungsfelder: Irmi Seidl - Wachstum, und dann? | Umwelt und Konsum

Our free weekly lunch program mainly from food that would otherwise be thrown away, with which we strive to contribute to a systemic change by cultivating a more holistically sustainable, prudent and caring attitude towards our given resources and towards each other. Bring hunger and a Tupperware, in case there are leftovers. The motto is: first comes, first serve.

With our donations we support changing social and ecological projects.

For those interested: Join the Food Waste Lunch WhatsApp group by clicking this link.

• Universal Basic Services: Guarantee public access to essential services, including education, healthcare, public transport, housing, food, and essential utilities to ensure a high quality of life independent of economic growth.

• Reduced Workweek: Shorten the workweek to 3-4 days to distribute employment more equitably, aiming to decrease unemployment and give people more free time.

• Job Guarantee: Create a federally funded but locally administered employment programme offering jobs to all, focusing on projects that yield social and environmental benefits, ensuring meaningful employment opportunities.

• Basic Income: Establish a guaranteed minimum income for individuals unable to work or unemployed (looking at you, AI), securing a dignified standard of living for everyone.

Actively deconstruct current colonial relations between the Global South and the Global North 
Objective: Objective: Rectify historical injustices and foster global equity, self-determination and economic independence, empowering Global South nations to pursue their developmental paths independently.

• Debt Cancellation: Push for the cancellation of debts, particularly for countries in the Global South, to relieve economic constraints and allow for much-needed investment in public services.

• Enhance Sovereignty: Support initiatives that increase Global South nations' monetary, food, and energy sovereignty—empowering regions to invest in their communities and lessen external dependencies.

• End Resource Appropriation: Cease the extraction and appropriation of labour and natural resources from the Global South, ensuring these regions retain full benefits from their assets.

• Ecological Reparations: Implement reparative measures including grants, debt cancellation and climate adaptation funding.

• Trade and Monetary Reform: Transform trade, mining, and global monetary and financial systems to ensure fair practices and equitable opportunities for all nations.

• Technology and Patent Reform: Facilitate technology transfer and rethink patent laws to promote innovation access, particularly benefiting countries in the Global South.

  
  

Reducing Material and Energy Used in Production and Consumption
Objective: Minimise the ecological footprint of goods and services, fostering sustainable, equitable and regenerative production and consumption patterns.

• Scale Down Harmful Industries: Equitably reduce the size of industries harmful to the environment, like fossil fuels, industrial animal agriculture, and fast fashion.

• End Planned Obsolescence: Encourage the design of durable, repairable products to reduce waste and extend product lifespans.

• Cut Advertising: Reallocate advertising budgets towards promoting sustainable practices and cultural activities, reducing consumerism.

• Shift to Usership: Encourage models of sharing and renting instead of ownership to lessen the demand for production and reduce waste.

• Money Creation: Support the principle that governments, rather than banks, should be the primary creators of money to finance public goods and diminish inequality.

• Co-operative Models: Advocate for businesses to adopt co-operative and steward-ownership models, prioritising community welfare and environmental sustainability over profits.

• Income and Wealth Equality: Implement income and wealth equality measures, such as setting minimum and maximum wage limits, wage ratios and adopting progressive wealth taxation.

• Fossil Fuel Treaty: Commit to the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty to drastically cut reliance on fossil fuels.

  (source)

Join their Signal chat here or follow them on Instagram.

Collapse, regeneration, change. New, old stories from the edge, out beyond the horizon of the mainstream. Come to listen. Come to dream. Come to tell us of the future that you see is still possible."

Join their Signal chat here.

Instructions: Read each scenario and choose the option that feels most like your automatic reaction, not necessarily what you think you should feel.

1. The "Productivity" Guilt

You have a completely free weekend with no obligations. By Sunday evening, you feel:

• A) Relaxed and restored, but slightly anxious that I "wasted" a day being unproductive.

• B) Content, provided I did at least one thing that felt like "self-improvement" or a hobby with a tangible output.

• C) Deeply at peace. Rest is a valid human activity, not something that needs to be justified by future output.

2. The Definition of Success

When you imagine a "successful life" in 10 years, your mind immediately pictures:

• A) Financial independence, a specific net worth, or owning a business.

• B) A balance of career achievement and personal relationships, where money enables freedom.

• C) Strong community ties, personal fulfillment, and freedom from the pressure to constantly "climb."

3. The Scarcity Reflex

You hear news about inflation rising or a potential recession. Your immediate internal reaction is:

• A) Panic. I need to hoard cash, cut expenses, and secure my position immediately.

• B) Concern. I should review my budget and maybe delay big purchases, but I trust the system will stabilize.

• C) Frustration. This highlights how fragile our reliance on volatile markets is; we should focus on local resilience and mutual aid.

4. Social Comparison & Status

You see a peer buy a luxury car or move to a significantly more expensive neighborhood. You feel:

• A) A sharp pang of envy or inadequacy. "What does this say about my own status?"

• B) Mild curiosity or inspiration. "Maybe I should work harder to reach that level too."

• C) Indifference or skepticism. "I wonder if they're happy, or just trapped in the rat race."

5. The Transactional Lens

When helping a friend move house or fixing a neighbor's fence, your brain calculates:

• A) "How much time is this costing me? Could I hire someone cheaper?"

• B) "I'll do it, but I expect reciprocity later, or at least a nice dinner."

• C) "It's just part of being in a community. We help each other because we care."

6. Identity and Consumption

If you were to lose your job tomorrow, your biggest fear regarding your identity is:

• A) Losing my income stream and the lifestyle/status it affords me.

• B) Losing my professional title and the sense of purpose work provides.

• C) Losing my connection to my workplace community, but knowing my worth isn't tied to a paycheck.

7. The "Hustle" Mentality

You see someone working late at night or on weekends. You instinctively think:

• A) "They are dedicated and ambitious. I should be doing the same."

• B) "It's necessary sometimes, but I hope they aren't burning out."

• C) "This is a sign of a broken system that demands unpaid labor for survival."

8. Materialism as Security

When you look at your bank account or possessions, you feel:

• A) Safe. My assets are my shield against the world.

• B) Comfortable, but I know money can't buy happiness.

• C) Anxious. No amount of accumulation ever feels like "enough" because the goalposts keep moving.

9. Individual Agency

When you encounter a major life problem (unemployment, illness, housing crisis), you believe:

• A) It is ultimately my responsibility to solve it through grit and smart choices.

• B) It's a mix of personal responsibility and needing some systemic support.

• C) It is largely a systemic failure, and blaming individuals is unfair and unhelpful.

10. The Future Self

You view your future self primarily as:

• A) A project to be optimized, invested in, and maximized for returns.

• B) Someone who should be happier and more secure than I am now.

• C) Just another version of me, deserving of the same kindness and rest I give myself today.

Interpreting Your Results

Mostly A's: The Internalized Market Your psychology has deeply absorbed capitalist logic. You likely view yourself as a "human capital" asset that must be constantly optimized. Time is money, relationships can feel transactional, and your self-worth is tightly coupled with your economic output. You may experience high levels of "hustle anxiety" and find it hard to rest without guilt. Reflection: Can you identify moments where you treat yourself like a business rather than a person?

Mostly B's: The Pragmatic Participant You navigate the capitalist system effectively but retain some critical distance. You understand the rules of the game and play them to survive and thrive, but you also recognize the emotional cost. You likely oscillate between feeling the pressure to achieve and seeking a more balanced, human-centric life. Reflection: Where do you feel the tension between "doing what works" and "living what matters"?

Mostly C's: The Post-Capitalist Consciousness Your values have largely decoupled from market logic. You prioritize community, intrinsic worth, and collective well-being over individual accumulation. You likely view scarcity as a manufactured condition and see individualism as a barrier to true connection. You may feel alienated by mainstream cultural narratives about success. Reflection: How do you maintain your mental well-being in a culture that constantly pushes the opposite values?

Mixed Results: The Cognitive Dissonance Zone This is the most common result. You likely hold contradictory beliefs: you want financial security (A) but hate the grind (C); you value community (C) but compare yourself to peers (A). This tension is the hallmark of living in a capitalist society while retaining humanistic values. Reflection: Which set of values wins out when you are stressed or tired?

Key Psychological Concepts to Explore

If you found yourself resonating with the "A" answers, you might want to research these concepts to understand the mechanisms at play:

• Commodification of Self: Treating your skills, time, and even personality as products to be sold.

• Scarcity Mindset: The cognitive tunneling that occurs when we feel resources (time/money) are insufficient, reducing our ability to think long-term.

• Status Anxiety: The fear that we are not doing enough to maintain our position in the social hierarchy.

• The Protestant Work Ethic: The historical link between hard work, moral virtue, and salvation, which evolved into modern productivity culture.

Note: This test is a mirror, not a judgment. Recognizing these patterns is the first step in deciding which ones you want to keep and which ones you want to unlearn.

At this year’s Kaleido Retreat, we step out of our silos to explore the dynamic flow of transformation. We invite changemakers from every walk of life—whether you operate at the grassroots or in the boardroom—into a shared, psychologically safe playground. We will go beyond just having conversations; through playful, embodied, and deeply creative exploration, we will connect our inner reflections with collective action. Together, we will discover how our diverse perspectives can merge to drive the systemic, regenerative change our world needs.

If money would be the reason for you not to join - there are 5 scholarships for students: https://forms.gle/qp1vRL3VCE68grUT9

Our digital lives are in the hands of a few ultra-rich individuals. Through the monopolistic positions of their companies, people like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg dictate worldwide how we get our information online, how we discuss issues and communicate, or do business. No individual or business should have such unchecked influence, because if they do, we are no longer free. The good news is: At the moment we are giving them this power, and we can take it back!

We share our thoughts, are heard, accepted, discover common ground, and develop ideas for action. We strengthen our confidence, find courage, and laugh together.

The Zurich Climate Cafés are moderated alternately by psychologists and therapists from Psychologists for Future Switzerland. Our team consists of Carmen, Michèle, Moritz, and Teresa, supported by Alex, an environmental journalist.

[Fridays in German, Sundays in English, also in Bern]

Warum brauchen wir Orte, die niemandem allein gehören? Wie regeln wir Raum, wenn viele mitbestimmen? Wer trägt Verantwortung für einen Raum, der allen gehört? Von April bis November 2026 begegnen Besucher*innen im Debattierhaus grosse Freiflächen mit Hunden, Jogger*innen, Velofahrer*innen zwischen Autobahn und Fluss. Szenen, die dazu einladen, über kollektiv genutzte Räume nachzudenken.

Wer entscheidet, was als Wissen gilt? Welche Perspektiven fehlen und warum? Und was wird möglich, wenn Interessierte wissenschaftliche Theorien kritisch und gemeinsam erarbeiten – unabhängig von ihrem akademischen Hintergrund? Und wie lässt sich kollektives Denken lernen?

Karl der Grosse

Workshop gegen die Hoffnungslosigkeit: Utopie als Praxis

Wie sieht eine Gesundheitsversorgung jenseits von Profitlogik aus? Wie wird Verantwortung über Generationen hinweg gedacht? Wie kann Care-Arbeit kollektiv organisiert werden? Wie werden Land und Wohnraum geteilt? Und welche Welten wären möglich, wenn wir die Grenzen des «Realistischen» neu ziehen?

Diese und weitere Fragen behandelt der Workshop der Menschenrechtsaktivistin Noemi Grütter.

Im Karl der Grosse

In der dritten Veranstaltung der Workshopreihe «Transforum» erkunden wir gemeinsam, explorativ und kreativ den Mut zum Sinkflug in einer Zeit, die von unaufhörlichem Wachstum und Selbstoptimierung geprägt ist.

Im Karl der Grosse

13:00, Aarau (registration required)

To celebrate the Thrutopia Club's 1-year anniversary, we will creatively, joyfully and with ceremonial satire "release" those parts of the (old) world that we definitely don't need to take with us into the future!

While billionaires might need big space rockets (like fireworks!) to cynically celebrate the crumbling of our tired systems here on Earth, we'll show you that surprisingly little is needed to playfully kick down colonialism, patriarchy, extractive capitalism, or whatever else you're ready to let go of!

We will then use those very same building blocks to collectively bring a better future into being.

(Practical note: please bring your Jenga sets, wooden marble runs, or any similar games you own!)

Also expect:

• Potluck lunch!

(bring and share)

• Party games for adults!

(e.g., musical chairs)

• Contest for the best outfit!

(optional dress code: steampunk, cyberpunk, eco-futurism or your own outrageous take on Thrutopia/dystopia)

• Co-created shrines to the "old world" & "new world"!

(bring small symbolic objects with you, such as tacky, disposable plastic toys and beautifully crafted, reusable tools)

Provisional start time: 12:30 (to be confirmed)

Where: Schülergarten Aemtler, opposite side of Aemtlerstrasse 108 (https://www.schuelergaerten.ch/garten/aemtler )

Cost: free (donations welcome)

Sign-up: email with subject "Garden Party" to alexander.russell.earth@gmail.com

Am 28. September dreht sich bei uns alles um Werbung im öffentlichen Raum. An dieser Veranstaltung diskutieren wir, wie kommerzielle Werbung unser Konsumverhalten und unsere Vorstellungen von einem guten Leben prägt. Komm auch du vorbei – hier kann man sich anmelden.