Enough Is Enough: Degrowth, Capitalism, and Liberation Theology

by Matthew Bernico, Dean Dettloff

Capitalism's excessive patterns of production and consumption are fueling the biggest existential threat to climate change. The central assumption of our current economic system puts economic growth before all other values. But infinite growth on a finite planet is fundamentally impossible. We must embrace the idea of degrowth.


With a name like "degrowth," misunderstandings are easy to come by, like assuming degrowth is about austerity or population control; on the contrary, degrowth means rejecting economic growth as the measure for social progress, such that we might grow other parts of our social life and ourselves. The problem isn't too few resources or too many people; it's capitalism's system of growth. Enough Is Enough argues that the economic and theological directions offered by liberation theology give us a unique paradigm for Christians to question the hegemony of growth and orient themselves according to alternative values rooted in a relationship with creation that sees all creatures as siblings.


Degrowth encourages us to expand our imaginations beyond a fixation on growth for growth's sake, to discover ways of organizing our societies according to different values. It's time for us to say, "Enough is enough," and to accept that if we abandon our drive for growth, we will discover there is already enough to go around.

Genres: Religion, Theology

154 pages, Paperback

Published May 12, 2026

Reviews

[Ines donfack]

One of the best syntheses of degrowth, socialism and liberation theology. I feel inspired to read this with different communities I’m part of. And even more inspired to anchor my vision for a socialist future around a world that is globally equal, free from exploitation of the global, south or the planet. This is why social democracy is not enough.

I also love the last chapter, which urges us to move not only from valuing things our natural world based on their exchange value to their use value but pushes us even further to valuing them regardless of any use value they may have. Our world is just valuable just because.

Lastly I love the spiritual elements, urging us to reconnect with ourselves, the earth and each other. None of this is possible without resisting the ideology of growth

I also loved the idea of growth as an idol upon whose altar we all sacrifice ourselves.

So good

[Nathanael]

A solid introduction to degrowth through a theological lens, though I wished for more examples of christian tools for conviviality and a greater dive into Ivan Illich

[Robert Irish]

Really 4.5*
The book starts with an excellent explanation of degrowth. It then positions that movement within the tradition of liberation theology. It does all that while remaining readable and accessible, even for folks who aren't especially familiar with liberation theology. All of this was so good.
The book has a strongly Roman Catholic flavour--drawing significantly on the writings of Popes--which fits within the liberation theology tradition I guess, but it may affect its reception with Protestants. Although Protestants lack the univocal authority of the Church, there are good thinkers about these sorts of theological politics that may be worth acknowledging at least.
The one weakness comes at the end where they attempt to develop some more practical approaches to how to move toward degrowth socialism. The hard sell here is socialism more than degrowth (even though you can't achieve degrowth without it). The ideas of socialism remain poorly explained, which can lead a reader to insert all sorts of bogeymen in place of an actual socialist politics.
The book is elegantly short, which is an important plus because when you're working with ideas this dense and important, it's tempting to get longwinded. They avoid that crime, and that's why I'm rounding up to 5*.

[Lonnie Smith]

In this urgent, prophetic call to cast down the idols of GDP, growth, and capitalism Bernico and Dettloff provide a clear-eyed analysis of these (and other) mechanisms that have helped drive us into the climate crisis in which we currently find ourselves. They also paint a picture of what it might look like to pursue a version of degrowth infused and informed by liberation theology.

Such a world of degrowth need not be an age of global austerity, though surely many would have to consume less. No, they argue that a world radically realigned to remove capitalist growth from its center would allow us "to be free to pursue more fulfilling lives, drawn forward by community, care, and gratitude," and provide "a social space for us to explore ourselves and our world, supported by an expanded social sphere."

To achieve such a world feels impossible, but Enough Is Enough provides a theological and theoretical framework we can carry forward into our struggle.

I commend this to you all.

[Harrison]

Enjoyable read that made me think. A good primer on aspects of liberation theology and why liberation theologians would advocate for the Degrowth movement. Lots of economic discussion about the history of colonization leading to massive wealth inequality between the global north and the global south, how capitalism itself cannot continue in its current form as it requires infinite growth on a world with finite resources, links to Christian thought and biblical sources for a Christian support of degrowth.I found this book by listening to the authors’ podcast “The Magnificast” on leftist Christian thought. I thought this book was a great starter for someone looking to understand liberation theology and what it has to say about how we should think about our political, social, and economic systems.