Spokojnost: Exploring diverse degrowth futures in 21st century Slovakia

'Spokojnost, a Slovak word for 'contentment' opens a range of interpretations. People tend to use it when describing someone who is satisfied: satisfied with their own life. The question, however is, in the context of avoiding dangerous climate change, what is 'enough'? 30-years after the transition to market capitalism in Slovakia, what shall be the

next stage of 'development'? In this research my goal is to examine what living 'well' means in a post-socialist context in the Anthropocene. How are ideas around degrowth, diverse economies, ideals around sharing, caring and alternatives to a high mass consumption lifestyle received in Slovakia. Even though 'growth' as a concept in terms of better-quality goods and services, improved

infrastructure, and increased human longevity combined with a high quality of life is a crucial element of any development scenario, this needs to be reconciled with the continued existence of environmental degradation and stagnating life satisfaction that does not follow the upwards driven curve of economic growth (Portner et al., 2022; Easterling, 1974). This

research aims to make contribution to the knowledge on grassroots development, the construction of sustainable futures and, in the post-communist context, of Slovakia in the 21st century, focused on notions and imaginations of what living well means in terms of shaping futures.