Spokojnost: Exploring diverse degrowth futures in 21st century Slovakia

Spokojnost是斯洛伐克语，意为“满足”，有多种解释。人们倾向于用它来形容一个满意的人：对自己的生活满意。然而，问题是，在避免危险的气候变化的背景下，什么是“足够”？斯洛伐克向市场资本主义转型30年后，下一个“发展”阶段是什么？在这项研究中，我的目标是研究在人类世的后社会主义背景下，生活“好”意味着什么。在斯洛伐克，人们对去增长、多元化经济、分享、关怀和替代大众消费生活方式的理念接受度如何？尽管“增长”作为一个概念，包括更优质的商品和服务、改善的基础设施、延长人类寿命以及高质量的生活，是任何发展方案的关键要素，但这需要与持续存在的环境退化和停滞的生活满意度相协调，而这些并没有遵循经济增长的向上驱动曲线（Portner et al., 2022; Easterling, 1974）。本研究旨在对基层发展的知识做出贡献，可持续未来的建设，以及在21世纪斯洛伐克的后共产主义背景下，重点关注生活在塑造未来方面意味着什么的概念和想象。

'Spokojnost, a Slovak word for 'contentment' opens a range of interpretations. People tend to use it when describing someone who is satisfied: satisfied with their own life. The question, however is, in the context of avoiding dangerous climate change, what is 'enough'? 30 years after the transition to market capitalism in Slovakia, what shall be the next stage of 'development'? In this research my goal is to examine what living 'well' means in a post-socialist context in the Anthropocene. How are ideas around degrowth, diverse economies, ideals around sharing, caring and alternatives to a high mass consumption lifestyle received in Slovakia.Even though 'growth' as a concept in terms of better-quality goods and services, improved infrastructure, and increased human longevity combined with a high quality of life is a crucial element of any development scenario, this needs to be reconciled with the continued existence of environmental degradation and stagnating life satisfaction that does not follow the upwards driven curve of economic growth (Portner et al., 2022; Easterling, 1974). This research aims to make contribution to the knowledge on grassroots development, the construction of sustainable futures and, in the post-communist context, of Slovakia in the 21st century, focused on notions and imaginations of what living well means in terms of shaping futures.