The Infrastructural Conditions of (De-)Growth : The Case of the Internet

Infrastructure studies are an area that remains largely underexplored by degrowth scholars. It is paradoxical as infrastructures are a prerequisite for much of the human wellbeing degrowthers argue should be more evenly distributed, yet their consumption of resources and energy can be significant. The internet offers an instructive case study of such tendencies, at its best it forges human connections and is productive of considerable societal value. Yet, the resource implications of the often-overlooked physical layer of data-centres and submarine cables needs to be acknowledged. Furthermore, the ways in which assumptions of perpetual growth are built into this global infrastructure via the logic layer of internet protocols and other governing mechanisms such as finance and network design need to be examined if we are to determine the extent to which such infrastructures are inherently growth dependent. In making these two arguments, we draw upon the work of both science and technology studies and urban scholarship on the inherent problems of large infrastructures which have thus far seen little engagement with questions of degrowth to review the case of the internet and suggest a number of scenarios that illustrate potential roles for such infrastructures in any planned reduction of economic activity