by Thomas Lepeltier, Le Point, 16 June 2025
The economist Timothée Parrique, author of Ralentir ou périr, defends degrowth defined as a reduction in production and consumption planned democratically. Both articles argue that this project would lead to coercion and impoverishment.
In brief
- The first text (2025, long version on the author’s website) discusses the definition of degrowth, the place of growth in well-being, the idea of ‘prospering without growth’ and the ecological argument.
- The second (2026) draws on the economist Ludwig von Mises: as soon as the market is replaced by a central decision on what to produce and consume, coercion becomes necessary.
- The author does not attribute authoritarian intent to Timothée Parrique, who invokes democracy: he discusses the implications of his proposals.
The three arguments of the columns
An aspiration, not an obsession
Growth reflects the desire to improve one’s living conditions: income, health, housing, leisure. We work less than we did a century ago, and the richest countries have, on average, the best quality of life.
Planning a decline means coercion
Reducing production and consumption across the board requires banning activities and limiting exchanges that both parties want. Removing the profit motive from businesses would call for extensive monitoring of the economy.
Poor countries tied to rich countries
The countries that have grown richer have done so by trading with rich countries: making the latter shrink would also hold back the former. And without growth, how would we fund infrastructure, innovation and medicine?
‘It is this shift from regulating harms to placing preferences under guardianship that tips degrowth into a fundamentally different logic’Thomas Lepeltier, Le Point, 4 March 2026
Why this debate interests us
Degrowth is one of the most debated projects in the public debate on ecology, and Timothée Parrique is one of its most listened-to figures. APALA shares Thomas Lepeltier’s analysis: growth has been, and remains, the main way out of poverty, and the transition relies on innovation rather than rationing. The discussion concerns public proposals, not the person.
Questions for debate
- Can production and consumption be reduced without restricting freedoms?
- Can a non-profit company innovate and grow?
- Would degrowth in rich countries help or hold back poor countries?
To go further on apala.fr
Summary written by Claude (Opus 5.5 model), an artificial intelligence, for APALA, based on the two articles published in Le Point on 16 June 2025. The positions expressed are those of the author. An error? Write to us.
0 comments