Depower

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Depower is a theory of political economy promoting expanded local democracy and decentralized planned economics. [1] It aims to transition the concentration of power from capitalism and the overarching state toward municipal and local government, permitting both enhanced local democracy and democratically planned economies on the local level. Through moving power downward, depower aims to counter the dominance of contemporary power structures. [2] Soft depower refers to the employment of local democracy to advance policies, particularly those which the federal level has yet to pursue, such as municipal Green New Deals. [3] [4] Hard depower refers to the changes in political design to explicitly expand local democracy and economic planning.

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Depower: demosprudence, municipal socialism, modern monetary theory, direct democracy Depower.png
Depower: demosprudence, municipal socialism, modern monetary theory, direct democracy

Depower is critical of power under capitalist democracies, holding that democratic institutions under capitalism tend to lead to concentrated power. [5] The term is closely related to other concepts, such as municipal socialism, which advocates for achieving socialist aims through municipal government, and decentralization, which is an organizational theory calling for the redistribution of political or economic agency.

Theoretical foundations

Degrowth

Within degrowth literature, forms of depowerist thought often place emphasis on local government and urban planning to achieve ecological economic aims through municipal politics. [6] [7] As city populations grow, proponents of degrowth advocate for depower to address climate change and inequality on the local level. [8] Local-level energy systems, consisting of municipally-owned power generation and grid infrastructure, are often cited as a viable option for depowerist degrowth. [9]

Demosprudence and inside/outside

Demosprudence, or the 'people's law,' refers to the ways ordinary people influence lawmaking and judicial interpretation, and inside/outside is a strategy for pushing progressive change from inside and outside traditional political systems. [10] Advocates of depower call for grassroots mobilization from both demosprudential action and inside pressure on established politics. [11]

Modern monetary theory

Depower calls for local public banks backed by modern monetary theory to provide financial feasibility for local government to pursue expensive programs such as a Green New Deal or universal basic income. Local public banks backed by MMT would theoretically fund municipal fiscal policy, lessening the financial dependence on higher levels of governance. [12]

Examples of depower

Examples of soft depower include municipal policies and programs such as the Los Angeles Green New Deal, Ithaca Green New Deal, New York City Human Rights Law and other city-level bans on weight discrimination, CROWN Act ordinances, intersectional discrimination ordinances, and local minimum wage increases. [13] [14] [15] [16] While hard depower has largely yet to take place in the United States, some cities have expanded city council seats. [17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Gildelamadrid, Daniel (2025). "The Depower Manifesto". GDL– via ResearchGate. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.28010.99520.
  2. ↑ V, Vernon (2025). "Why Depower Matters". Medium.
  3. ↑ "Boston's Green New Deal | Boston.gov". www.boston.gov. 2023-08-18. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  4. ↑ Furnaro, Andrea; Kay, Kelly (2022-10-01). "Labor resistance and municipal power: Scalar mismatch in the Los Angeles Green New Deal". Political Geography. 98: 102684. doi:10.1016/j.polgeo.2022.102684. ISSN   0962-6298.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  5. ↑ Wolf, Martin. "The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism". Institute for New Economic Thinking. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  6. ↑ Ruiz-Alejos, Carlos; Prats, Vincent (2022-04-03). "In quest of implementing degrowth in local urban planning policies". Local Environment. 27 (4): 423–439. doi:10.1080/13549839.2021.1983789. ISSN   1354-9839.
  7. ↑ Kronenberg, Jakub; Andersson, Erik; Elmqvist, Thomas; Łaszkiewicz, Edyta; Xue, Jin; Khmara, Yaryna (2024-04-01). "Cities, planetary boundaries, and degrowth". The Lancet Planetary Health. 8 (4): e234 –e241. doi:10.1016/S2542-5196(24)00025-1. ISSN   2542-5196.
  8. ↑ "Degrowth for Cities – degrowth.org" . Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  9. ↑ Tsagkari, Marula; Roca, Jordi; Kallis, Giorgos (2021-11-01). ""From local island energy to degrowth? Exploring democracy, self-sufficiency, and renewable energy production in Greece and Spain"". Energy Research & Social Science. 81: 102288. doi:10.1016/j.erss.2021.102288. ISSN   2214-6296.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: article number as page number (link)
  10. ↑ Torres, Lani Guinier & Gerald. "Changing the Wind: Notes Toward a Demosprudence of Law and Social Movements". www.yalelawjournal.org. Retrieved 2025-09-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. ↑ "The Power of Depower". The Societarian. 2025-08-18. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  12. ↑ "Monetary policy takes center stage: MMT, QE or public banks? – Alliance for Local Economic Prosperity" . Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  13. ↑ "Mayor Garcetti Launches LA's Green New Deal | City of Los Angeles". lacity.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  14. ↑ Vogel, Maddy (2024-12-11). "City Officials Take a New Approach to Meet Ithaca's Green New Deal Goals". Ithaca Times. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  15. ↑ "The Law - CCHR". www.nyc.gov. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  16. ↑ "City and County Minimum Wage Rate Updates". GovDocs. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
  17. ↑ Newton, Jim (2024-04-18). "Why more Angelenos are finally beginning to embrace LA City Council expansion". CalMatters. Retrieved 2025-09-09.
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