ABSTRACT
This chapter begins by highlighting the need for a non-growing, steady state economy (SSE) in addressing climate change. With corporations having shaped the public’s understanding of freedom as the promise of unlimited consumption, social movements aiming to create a SSE must redefine freedom as the ability of ordinary people to collectively shape their own fate within natural limits. The chapter explores the history of corporations defining freedom as consumption, which is contrasted with ecological and democratic interpretations of the concept. By asserting the eco-democratic definition over the consumerist definition, activists can defend and drive the movement towards a SSE. Possible next steps for starting this discussion of freedom are suggested.
