Resource shifting: Resourcification and de-resourcification for degrowth

Resources are a core concept in debates about socio-ecological transformations and post-growth societies, but as a concept they are rarely problematised. Drawing on a resourcification approach in which resources are un-derstood as outcomes of various social processes, this study analyses how resources are conceptualised and understood in degrowth scholarship. Our study shows that resources are seen in two interlinked ways, first as a critique of the environmental and social costs of current resourcification practices (the becoming of resources), and second as a combination of transformative proposals calling for de-resourcification practices (the unbe-coming of resources). By approaching degrowth in terms of a dynamics of resourcification and de-resourcification that we call resource shifting, we contribute to a problematisation of the concept of resource that opens new socio-ecological pathways to post-growth societies.

Automated summary

Resources are a central concept in debates on socio-ecological transformations and post-growth societies. However, this study uses a resourcification approach to problematize the concept of resources in degrowth scholarship. The study reveals that resources are understood in two interconnected ways, as a critique of current resource practices and as a call for transformative de-resourcification practices. By approaching degrowth as a dynamic process of resource shifting, the study contributes to opening new socio-ecological pathways to post-growth societies.