A French philosopher, economist and political scientist, Serge Latouche (born 1940) is a specialist in North-South relations and epistemology of social sciences He has developed a critical theory towards economic orthodoxy, known as the (happy or sustainable) degrowth theory. This invokes a controlled downscaling of production and consumption as the only way to increase human well-being and enhance ecological conditions and equity on the planet. The primacy of efficiency is substituted by a focus on sufficiency, and innovation does no longer focus on technology for technology’s sake, but concentrates on new social and technical arrangements that will enable us to live convivially and frugally.

Although the concept of frugality in Latouche refers more to society than to government, there are some common traits between his vision of public management and Jefferson’s (or Clark and Eisen’s), in that the central goal of policy making becomes how to reduce unwanted pressures on the socio-economic system, thus leaving more space for human creativity, interaction and cooperation.

Previous Pioneers: Ian Clark & Ben Eisen

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