Building a Post-Growth Community: Lessons from the Working Class
Our values run antithetical to the capitalist system — we know that life is better when you act with other people in mind.
The post-growth society that awaits us in the future will be convivial. Our communities will thrive from networks rooted in reciprocity and care, washing away the individualism that props up the current hegemonic order. But how can we get there? I believe that we stand to learn a great deal from working class culture in this regard. As a working class woman from London, England, I have noticed striking parallels between the types of communities that post growth envisages and those of the working class — in many ways, they are identical. For us, if we do not privilege conviviality, care and reciprocity over individualism our communities would simply cease to exist.
Historically, post growth discussions have overlooked perspectives of the Global North’s working class. It is therefore important to start with highlighting both how and why the rejection of individualism has become so fundamental to our lives. We live through the systematic marginalization from mainstream society, either from social alienation or a lack of access to basic resources (or a combination of the two). Owing to this, our class faction has had no other option but to turn to each other in times of need — it is a practice that was born out of necessity. We pick up the pieces left behind by the government, and carve out an existence for one another that privileges dignity and respect by way of caring for people in the ways that we can. We are, to quote David Graeber, the “caring class”.
Our rejection of individualism stems from a historic and continued struggle that other classes have not lived through. For us it is the very thing that distinguishes us from other class factions. It is a part of our culture. Despite the fact that it can be a deeply coercive experience at times, our lives are not lived in permanent states of despondence — we take great pride in who we have become in spite of our struggles, and how it has shaped the way that we look out for each other.
It is not that we have to teach people how to care for others. Rather, it is drawing focus towards the ways in which it is possible for entire communities to care for each other, by making use of the existing resources available to them — something that will play a fundamental role to the creation and maintenance of a post-growth existence. There is so much to learn from the working class — because it is what we have always done. I have decided to highlight some of the many ways that communities have created spaces for relations of care to flourish by rejecting individualism. What unites these examples together is the privileging of peoples’ wellbeing above all else.
Sustainable redistribution
In the town of Ormsgill, Wales, residents set up the group Ormsgill Stronger Together to connect and engage with the local community. As part of this they opened up a community fridge with the help of charities and donations from nearby supermarkets. It provides food to those in need alongside preventing (as of March this year), 29,733,65 tons of food from going to waste. It is an initiative that brings everyone together — as the Ormsgill Stronger Together group themselves shared: “The service is available for EVERYONE to use. This project is just as much about cutting down food waste as it is supporting the community.” Yet the residents have also enabled sustainable redistribution to become a site for sociality to emerge: people can pop in for toast, a hot drink, and to chat with one another.
Defiant care
Keeping a community together isn’t always easy, and sometimes people have to fight for the right to do so. This is exactly what the locals of Pollokshields, Scotland, did in 2021. One day, the government arrived to forcefully remove two refugees from the area. In response, hundreds of people joined forces to block the police van from leaving with the refugees inside. The police eventually had no other option but to let them go, as they were no match for the 500 people that stood up — in every sense of the term, for those in the community that needed it the most. The efficacy of this protest was bolstered by existing networks in the area: there was an established activist movement who had long been challenging forced evictions, meaning that people knew who could be quickly contacted for help. It was a monumental display of solidarity from those who lay down underneath and besides the van, those who gathered in the street, and those who used their expert legal knowledge.
Sometimes, it’s the little things
Smaller acts of care can be just as important as larger ones — both are needed to ensure the longevity of convivial communities. When I lived in a seaside town in southern England, I would frequently come home to find that my neighbour had left fresh eggs and apples by my front door. In turn, I would leave apple pies by her front door made from the items she left for me. Though we worked different hours and were seldom home at the same time, it created a sense of togetherness and familiarity between us. It was nice to know that kindness prompted someone to think of me.
That is not to say that all working class communities are without their problems. But by starting from what works we look for solutions to bring people together, as well as looking towards the ways that fractured relations can be healed. Although many working class people may not know the term post growth, our intrinsic values are wholly the same and our practices run antithetical to the capitalist system — because we all know that life is so much better when you act with other people in mind.
Inspired? Here are some ideas for how to make a difference
- If you can, making a donation to the Ormsgill community fridge crowdfunder would greatly help them out. (Or share the link as widely as possible!)
- Visit the Working Class History website to learn about inspiring working class stories from across the Global North and South.
- Fill out the form below to sign up to our Full Circle newsletter and receive monthly insight & inspiration about all things post growth:
