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Degrowth and a sustainable future for archaeology

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 November 2020

James L. Flexner
James L. Flexner*
Affiliation:
School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
*
Email: james.flexner@sydney.edu.au
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Abstract

It is increasingly acknowledged that 21st-century archaeology faces serious challenges from a variety of directions, ranging from the theoretical to the practical. Above all, the discipline’s entanglement with capitalism, capitalist ideologies and capitalist institutions is simply unsustainable. The concept of degrowth involves a reconceptualization of archaeology’s possible future(s) in terms of a withdrawal from capitalism and an emphasis on collective and caring praxis looking towards both a sustainable future and the possibilities of the immediate present. A degrowth approach to archaeology can provide a useful supplement to existing critiques and proposed alternatives to current practices. Degrowth proposals such as reorienting economic behaviours towards cooperative, convivial and dépense (communal use of surplus) activities while freeing people to pursue work they find meaningful have potential applications in archaeological practice that address some of the problems currently facing the discipline.

Keywords

Degrowthcultural resource managementheritagecapitalismsustainability

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Archaeological Dialogues , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , December 2020 , pp. 159 - 171
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© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press.

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