Design global, manufacture local: operationalizing post-growth industrial policy through cosmolocalism

The resurgence of industrial policy across advanced economies responds to ecological, geopolitical, and socio-economic crises, yet existing frameworks remain contradictory: while seeking resilience, strategic autonomy, and sustainability, they maintain structural dependencies on growth driving ecological overshoot and resource conflicts. Post-growth research proposes transformative alternatives but lacks concrete implementation mechanisms. This article demonstrates how cosmolocalism – circulating knowledge as global commons while maintaining local material production – can help operationalize post-growth industrial policy across three pillars: foundational liveability, peaceful planetary co-existence, and democratically coordinated sustainability. Drawing on evidence from agriculture, energy, and healthcare, we show that differentiating knowledge and material flows across scales enables innovation without monopoly, productive capacity without resource imperialism, and coordination without centralized control. Applicable to modular, repairable, locally adaptable goods, cosmolocalism bridges post-growth theory and practice while informing spatial policies addressing regional disparities within the EU.