Towards the Pluriverse - How to connect Degrowth and Ubuntu

Sammanfattning: This thesis scrutinizes the possibilities for a connection of Degrowth and Ubuntu within a transition discourse, thereby promoting the validity of pluriversal knowledges. It presents and compares the two philosophies, brings arguments for a connection and discusses possible benefits. It draws from expert interviews, observations and informal interviews conducted in a two months research period in South Africa as well as Sweden. The thesis shows that Ubuntu and Degrowth have essential commonalities regarding their core values and some of their practices, which makes an alliance between them justifiable despite their ontological and epistemological differences. Furthermore, it will be shown that both philosophies can benefit from a connection. How a connection could be established more concretely will be shown through utilizing a decolonial approach as well as the concept of situated knowledges. This will be illustrated with an example; a possible common approach of Ubuntu and Degrowth towards environmental sustainability. It thereby makes a case for a bigger engagement with unknown ways of living and knowing, for which the recognition of their situatedness is crucial. Decolonization must start with recognition, but it also needs to go further; there is a need to try to understand different contexts, a need for active engagement. This can reveal commonalities, and in this way a common strategy towards specific goals within a bigger transition agenda would become more feasible.