Ecological redirection and intensive sufficiency: Which forms of coexistence should we embrace?

Abstract

Sufficiency is a feature of most scenarios put forward by energy management bodies in France and would appear essential to us all, in terms of both production and consumption. The concept of sufficiency is applied in countless fields, from architecture to digital to textiles and fashion. Nonetheless, it struggles to make the possible transformations of our environments and lifestyles tangible. In this paper, the authors propose two possible complementary ways to envision sufficiency: in an extensive form, via the adjustments and renunciations it requires, and an intensive form, via the multiplication of activities linked to infrastructures that are less environmentally burdensome, or not as numerous. Within this new framework, a distinction is no longer made between moderation and excess at the individual level, but instead involves identifying the substitution of existing attachments or their displacement to sustainable lifestyles and learning environments by means of surveys and democratic protocols. We use the term intensive sufficiency to describe this perspective for practical thinking. In contrast to the principle of voluntary restraint, or to climate emergency responses that are strictly technological, including eco-technological, this perspective paves the way to activities and forms of existence and coexistence likely to reconcile a smaller environmental footprint with existential and social benefits to be redefined and fostered.