Slow down, advises ‘save planet’ guru

TOKYO (AFP) — As Tokyo’s millions put in another day’s work on the coalface of capitalism, celebrity Marxist philosopher Kohei Saito and his friends are clearing rocks from a muddy mountain stream.

Saito’s core argument — that capitalism is the root cause of climate change and we need to stop chasing growth to save the planet — has struck a chord in the world’s fourth-largest economy, especially among young people.

The associate professor at the University of Tokyo has sold half a million copies of his latest book and last month spoke at music festival Fuji Rock, headlined by The Killers.

He has become a face of the global movement for “degrowth” — a word that “kind of freaks people out,” Saito told Agence France-Presse as he tended to his slice of collectively owned land on the capital’s western outskirts.

“Maybe it’s not the best way to convince people, especially in America,” said the 37-year-old, whose hit title “Slow Down: The Degrowth Manifesto” came out in English this year.

But using the term is one way to “provoke or challenge” widely accepted economic principles which are leading to environmental ruin, he said.

‘Degrowth isn’t just frugal living’

Saito’s calls for a world where fewer things are produced — reducing carbon emissions — and a break with overconsumption and long working hours have resonated with those disillusioned with the status quo in Japan.

New technologies such as electric cars, carbon capture or nuclear fusion cannot solve the climate problem in a system that is always seeking greater profit, Saito said.

Banning private jets and “excessive public advertisements” as well as “introducing a much more radical wealth tax” could be a starting point instead.

“But I also want to emphasize that degrowth is not simply about giving up everything and living in frugality,” Saito said.