In the spring of 2019, the Finnish degrowth network (kohtuusliike) undertook an election campaign. The aim of the campaign was to break the silence around degrowth ideas in political discourse. We were also curious to see how much support calls to limit production and consumption could generate within the ‘system’.
We wrote a short manifesto outlining policy principles which we considered to be necessary preconditions for ecological sustainability and social justice. Over the course of about four months we gathered 169 candidate signatures across 11 political parties supporting the manifesto. In the April national parliamentary elections, 13 candidates who had signed the manifesto were elected into office.
Additionally, we organized three election debates with the theme Green New Deal (GND), one for the national parliamentary elections and one for the European parliament elections. Currently, we are pushing for the organizing of an unofficial parliamentary degrowth network in parliament.
The manifesto
An English translation of the manifesto is available on the last page of this note. The three principles in the manifesto address ecological sustainability, wellbeing, and the transition period (titled ‘ecological reconstruction’, following the language of the independent Finnish research unit Bios). A social justice focus runs throughout. The manifesto stems broadly from degrowth and adjacent perspectives. It is framed in terms of broad policy principles instead of concrete and precise policy actions. We thought that it might not be fruitful to discuss specifics before discussants agree on the broad direction we should be heading in. However, we also produced a separate set of concrete policy proposals to show candidates who were curious about the manifesto. Some candidates commented that the list of concrete proposals was very helpful.
Of the parties currently in parliament, we received signatures from the Green Party (60), Left Alliance (39), the Social Democratic Party (12), and the Center Party (3). Of the parties not currently in parliament, signatories represented the Finnish Communist Party (21), the Feminist Party (11), the Independence Party (11), the Animal Rights Party (10), Tähtiliike (1) and Kristallipuolue (1). Receiving 169 signatures was a positive surprise. The list of signatures included well-known individuals and long-time politicians.
Naturally, the volume of signatures in part reflects the eagerness of candidates to gain visibility. We had promised to promote the candidates who signed through our own networks and on social media. It is likely that framing of the manifesto in terms of broad principles also made candidates more comfortable to sign, compared to if the manifesto featured specific transformative or radical policy measures. In any case, it was encouraging to see how popular these policy principles proved to be. It is commonly argued that policy proposals that aim to limit production and consumption are completely unrealistic. The outcome of our campaign challenges this idea.
Election debates
The three election debates we organized focused on the Green New Deal and what it would look like in the Finnish or European context. Prior to our events, there had been quite little public discussion about GND. We introduced degrowth themes such as overconsumption and wellbeing issues into the discussion at each event. As organizers we sought to encouraged discussion over intentionally fuelling direct antagonisms. One of the national election debates took place in Helsinki. The discussion was structured around four themes: 1) how could a Finnish GND be funded, 2) how economic restructuring can happen in a just way without harming people's wellbeing, 3) whether personal CO2 quotas would be an acceptable approach to limiting consumption (based on a pilot project in Lahti, Finland), and 4) whether emission based customs would be a feasible and effective policy approach. About 100 people showed up at the event on a Saturday afternoon. Several candidates said it was one of the best debates they had attended.
The second national election event took place in Salo. It was arranged at an independent movie theatre and combined with watching a climate change documentary. Discussion topics were varied, and at certain intervals two members of our network commented on the discussion from a degrowth perspective. Audience members said they enjoyed the format of letting activists with prior knowledge about sustainability provide additional insights and push the discussion toward were it needs to be.
The European election debate was held in Helsinki in conjunction of the Finnish Social Forum - an annual event comprising of many sessions organized by NGOs and CSOs. The debate covered three themes: 1) ways of financing a GND, 2) limiting production and consumption directly, and 3) wellbeing. Four candidates took part in the debate and attendance was good.
One of our takeaways was that it is worth organizing election debates on themes which we know “the scene” is interested in, but which are not covered by more mainstream forums such as TV debates. People seem to be interested when the event promises something new. As organizers we were well aware of degrowth critiques of GND, but also considered something akin to a GND necessary. We thought that being in the forefront of the Finnish GND discussions, and thus getting to frame it, would be a good idea and an opportunity to introduce degrowth perspectives into a more general policy discussions about sustainability.