Wake up, managers, times have changed! A plea for degrowth pedagogy in business schools

Abstract

The idea of endless economic growth is embedded in current economic teachings and in economic institutions. However, these teachings are being challenged by a corpus of studies which show that our economies are experiencing limits to growth. We must therefore work out how businesses can adapt to the post-growth era. This paper claims that there is an urgent need to introduce degrowth courses into the business curriculum to prepare future managers for the post-growth era. One way of doing this is to develop a specific degrowth pedagogy rooted in critical pedagogy. The author outlines the degrowth paradigm and introduces the current challenges of business education. Critical pedagogy provides the teacher with the necessary skills for questioning the relevance of the infinite growth paradigm on a finite planet. The paper reveals the transformational potential of degrowth pedagogy in business education.