Sustainable consumption governance in democracies faces a fundamental dilemma. On the one hand, consumption is central to democratic politics because it drives economic growth, which in turn is seen as a prerequisite for stable political consent and legitimacy. At the same time, consumption can mask the parallel growth of inequality, rising collective debt, and declining social and infrastructural investments that are central to the functioning of democratic systems. To overcome this dilemma, designers of sustainable consumption governance should consider criteria of democratic input, output, and throughput legitimacy to democratize consumption governance. The social sciences can contribute to a better understanding of the tension between sustainable and democratic consumption and to the refinement of democratic governance of sustainable consumption.Cite as: Bornemann, Basil (2023): Democratizing Sustainable Consumption Governance, in: Schweizerische Akademie der Geistes- und Sozialwissenschaften: Wege zu einem nachhaltigen Konsum | Vers une consommation durable, (Swiss Academies Communications, 18, 5), pp. 66-77. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.815853
