Serge Latouche (; ; born 12 January 1940) is a French

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

professor of economics at the

University of Paris-Sud Paris-Sud University (French: ''Université Paris-Sud''), also known as University of Paris — XI (or as Université d'Orsay before 1971), was a French research university distributed among several campuses in the southern suburbs of Paris, in ...

. He holds a degree in

political sciences Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and la ...

, philosophy and economy.

Work

Latouche is a specialist in North-South economic and cultural relations, and in the epistemology of the social sciences. He has developed a critical theory towards economic orthodoxy. He denounces

economism Economism, sometimes spelled economicism, is a term referring to the distraction of working class political activism from a global political project to purely economic demands. The concept encompasses rewarding workers in socialism with money inc ...

utilitarianism In ethical philosophy, utilitarianism is a family of normative ethical theories that prescribe actions that maximize happiness and well-being for all affected individuals. Although different varieties of utilitarianism admit different charact ...

in social sciences,

consumer society Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. With the Industrial Revolution, but particularly in the 20th century, mass production led to overproduction—the supp ...

and the notion of

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desi ...

. He particularly criticizes the notions of

economic efficiency In microeconomics, economic efficiency, depending on the context, is usually one of the following two related concepts: * Allocative or Pareto efficiency: any changes made to assist one person would harm another. * Productive efficiency: no addi ...

and

economic rationalism Economic rationalism is an Australian term often used in the discussion of macroeconomic policy, applicable to the economic policy of many governments around the world, in particular during the 1980s and 1990s. Economic rationalists tend to favour ...

. He is one of the thinkers and most renowned partisans of the degrowth theory.
Latouche has also published in the '' Mouvement Anti-Utilitariste dans les Sciences Sociales, Revue du Mauss'', a French anti-utilitarian journal.

Publications

Books

* ''Faut-il refuser le développement?: Essai sur l'anti-économique du Tiers-monde'' (Presses universitaires de France, 1986) * ''La planète des naufragés: Essai sur l'après-développement'' (La Découverte, 1991) * ''In the Wake of the Affluent Society: An Exploration of Post-Development'' (Zed Books, London, 1993). * ''The Westernization of the World: Significance, Scope and Limits of the Drive Towards Global Uniformity'' (Polity Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 1996). * ''L'Autre Afrique: Entre don et marché'' (Albin Michel, 1998). * ''La Déraison de la raison économique: de l'efficacité au principe de précaution'' (Albin Michel, 2001). * ''Justice sans limites: Le défi de l'éthique dans une économie mondialisée'' (Fayard, 2003). * ''Décoloniser l'imaginaire : La Pensée créative contre l'économie de l'absurde'' (Parangon, 2003). * ''Survivre au développement : De la décolonisation de l'imaginaire économique à la construction d'une société alternative'' (Mille et Une Nuits, 2004). * ''La Mégamachine : Raison technoscientifique, raison économique et mythe du progrès'', (2004). * ''L'invention de l'économie'', (2005). * ''Le pari de la décroissance'', (2006). * ''Petit traité de la décroissance sereine'', (Mille et Une Nuits, 2007). English translation: Latouche, S. (2010). Farewell to Growth (David Macey, Trans.). Polity Press. * ''Sortir de la sociedad de consumo'', (Les Liens qui Libèrent, 2010). Spanish translation: Latouche, S. (2012). Salir de la sociedad de consumo: Voces y vías del decrecimiento (First Spanish edition). Ocataedro. * ''Vers une société d'abondance frugale'', (Mille et Une Nuits, 2011). Spanish translation: Latouche, S. (2012). La sociedad de la abundancia frugal: Contrasentidos y controversias del decrecimiento. Icaria.

Contributions to other books

* De-growth, Inequality and Poverty in Paolo Ventura, Enrique Calderon , Michela Tiboni, "Sustainable development Policies for Minor Deprived Urban Communities", Milano, McGraw-Hill, 2011. pages 71-79 . * "Paradoxical Growth", Chapter 12 in ''The Post-Development Reader'', ed. by Majid Rahnema & Victoria Bawtree (Zed Books, London, 1997).

Articles

"Would the West actually be happier with less? The World Downscaled"
''Le Monde diplomatique'' (December 2003).

''Le Monde diplomatique'' (December 2004).

''The International Journal of Inclusive Democracy'', Vol.1, No. 3 (May 2005).
"A bas le développement durable ! Vive la decroissance conviviale !"
''Institut d'études économiques et sociales pour la décroissance soutenable (Institute for Economic and Social Studies for Sustainable Degrowth)'' (Paris, January 2006).
"How do we learn to want less? The globe downshifted"
''Le Monde diplomatique'' (January 2006).

''The International Journal of Inclusive Democracy'' Vol. 3, No. 1 (January 2007).

References

External links

* Interview with Serge Latouche
Let's give a name to the future: Development or Degrowth?
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Wilma Massucco
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Eugad project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Latouche, Serge Living people Paris-Sud 11 University faculty Non-fiction environmental writers Green thinkers French environmentalists Degrowth advocates Ecological economists People associated with criticism of economic growth Writers from Vannes French economists Anti-consumerists Anti-globalization writers Writers about globalization 1940 births