Keywords: Degrowth; social and environmental movements; transformation; economic growth; activism

Abstract: The call for ‘sustainable Degrowth’ has recently turned into a focal point of critical social and ecological debates, as well as a frame for diverse strands of activism. So far, little is known about motives, attitudes and practices of grassroots activists within the Degrowth spectrum. The article presents results of a questionnaire survey conducted at the 2014 International Degrowth Conference, revealing both the presence of a widely shared basic consensus among respondents and a broad division into five distinguishable subcurrents. A cluster analysis shows that Degrowth provides a frame for a conflictual diversity of critical and transformational approaches. We identify and describe five such currents: The eco-radical Sufficiency-oriented Critics of Civilization, the moderate Immanent Reformers, a transitory group of Voluntarist-Pacifist Idealists, the Modernist Rationalist Left and the Alternative Practical Left.