MIMETIC IMPULSE, CLIMATE VULNERABILITY, AND DEGROWTH

The report argues that the climate crisis is fundamentally linked to 'mimetic desire,' where individuals pursue luxury goods and status symbols not for their utility, but to emulate others. This cycle of conspicuous consumption fuels unsustainable economic growth and greenhouse gas emissions. The author explores various philosophical and economic responses, including degrowth communism, minimalism, and the concept of 'Buen Vivir,' while concluding that neither perpetual growth nor utopian degrowth fully resolves the tension between fulfilling essential human needs and maintaining planetary boundaries. The text identifies a 'climate–development trilemma' where societal stability, basic needs, and resource efficiency are in constant conflict.

• The 'mimetic impulse'—the innate human tendency to copy or emulate others—leads to the pursuit of 'false needs' and status symbols, which creates social dissonance and alienation.
• There is a direct correlation between mimesis, conspicuous consumption, and the increase in greenhouse gas emissions, as the desire for status sustains unsustainable economic growth models.
• AI-driven algorithmic platforms intensify the climate crisis by manipulating mimetic desire and fueling an addiction to self-image and validation through possessions.
• The author identifies a 'climate–development trilemma' consisting of three conflicting pressures: the disruption of societal stability by status-driven desires, the requirement of economic growth to meet essential needs, and the demand for resource efficiency to ensure sustainability.
• Alternative frameworks to combat overconsumption include 'degrowth communism' (advocated by Kohei Saito), minimalism (supported by Ingrid Robeyns), and the Ecuadorian constitutional concept of 'Buen Vivir' (Good Living), which links human well-being to nature's health.
• The report argues that 'net-zero' goals may be an 'illusion' because no modern society has successfully implemented a strategy of deliberately low or no growth, and material intensity remains difficult to decouple from growth.
• In South Africa, the mimetic impulse is manifested as a 'status trap' and 'immodest status anxiety,' contributing to widespread state capture and corporate fraud.

APA

Fakir, S. (2025). MIMETIC IMPULSE, CLIMATE VULNERABILITY, AND DEGROWTH. African Climate Foundation. https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/801040-ACF-Thought-piece-mimetic-impulse-WEB.pdf

Chicago

Fakir, Saliem. MIMETIC IMPULSE, CLIMATE VULNERABILITY, AND DEGROWTH. African Climate Foundation, 2025. https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/801040-ACF-Thought-piece-mimetic-impulse-WEB.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fakir |first1=Saliem |title=MIMETIC IMPULSE, CLIMATE VULNERABILITY, AND DEGROWTH |publisher=African Climate Foundation |date=2025 |url=https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/801040-ACF-Thought-piece-mimetic-impulse-WEB.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fakir2025mimetic, author = {Fakir, Saliem}, title = {{MIMETIC IMPULSE, CLIMATE VULNERABILITY, AND DEGROWTH}}, institution = {African Climate Foundation}, year = {2025}, url = {https://africanclimatefoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/801040-ACF-Thought-piece-mimetic-impulse-WEB.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }