Matthias Schmelzer speaks at the ICI Lecture Series AutoReduction on “The Spectre of Stagnation and the Rise of Fascism. Towards a Theory of Growth”
Explanations for the rise of the far right often point to a lack of growth. In his lecture at ICI Berlin, Matthias Schmelzer questions this premise and outlines a theory of growth that connects ideology, society and materiality.
From the interwar period to the present, economic stagnation is often seen as a cause of the rise of the far right. Schmelzer examines what such explanations presuppose and argues that they rest on an unquestioned premise: that growth is the baseline, and that reduction, for instance of income, status or industrial power, is an accident, a lack to be resented or revolted against. Dismantling the growth paradigm is essential for understanding what is at stake in debates about the ecologically necessary reduction of material and energy throughput. Drawing on political economy and political ecology, Matthias Schmelzer presents a framework for a theory of growth that spans three dimensions.
The lecture takes place on 2 November 2026 at 7:30 pm at ICI Berlin (in English, part of the AutoReduction Lecture Series 2026–27). Registration is required for in-person attendance; the livestream is public.
Further Information on the ICI Berlin Website.