ABSTRACT
This chapter in the Routledge Handbook of Degrowth (2025) introduces the concept ‘imperial mode of living’ in order to understand why it is so difficult to overcome the capitalist growth imperative. ‘Imperial mode of living’ refers to the dominant patterns of production, distribution and consumption, as well as discourses and related orientations of ‘a good life’ in the Global North and, increasingly, in the countries of the Global South. This creates material well-being but is, at the same time, based on exploitation, exclusion, social and environmental destruction. The deepening of this mode of production and living increasingly creates ‘eco-imperial tensions’ that are becoming a structural element of international politics. We argue that the plurality of radical and emancipatory alternatives can be subsumed under the header of ‘solidary modes of living’. As the imperial mode of living is broadly accepted and practically lived, it tends to be hegemonic, so alternatives must question this hegemonic character and create alternatives. These are in many cases linked to everyday experiences and practices, but they take also into account scales beyond the everyday such as national and global ones. We conclude with some strategic implications of our considerations.
