DEGROWTH AND ‘REGROWTH’: SUBJECTIVE PERSPECTIVES OF THE NEW PEASANTS
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.2478/subbs-2025-0003Keywords:
Neo-rurality, Degrowth, Alternative LifestylesAbstract
This paper investigates the emerging phenomenon of neo-rurality in post-socialist Romania through the theoretical lens of degrowth, analyzing the lived experiences of urban-to-rural migrants (“new peasants”) pursuing alternative, sustainability-oriented lifestyles. Combining ethnographic interviews and participant observation, the study reveals how these actors reconfigure notions of labor, consumption, and community while navigating tensions between their aspirational practices and the socio-cultural norms of traditional rural settings. The analysis identifies neo-rural initiatives as sites of ecological experimentation and grassroots innovation, yet critically interrogates their ambivalent role in perpetuating or subverting power hierarchies tied to cultural capital and social class. By foregrounding the dialectics of individual agency and structural constraints, this work contributes to transnational debates on sustainable transitions, emphasizing the need for context-sensitive strategies that reconcile ecological resilience with emancipatory social transformation.
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