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The strong denunciations by the communities of the dominant way of thinking are intended to produce an ideological opposition, in order to rebuild or reshape the ideas and actions of their members and beyond. This ongoing work of re-ideologization is aimed at producing and then establishing new values in opposition to the market-oriented view: the primacy of solidarity, trade, being free of charge, preservation of health, respect for nature and freedom of choice. The opposition of the two value systems is explicitly highlighted in the posts made by members: the quest to preserve life in all its forms in order to pass it on to future generations is in contrast to the structural trend of exhausting resources for insatiable financial gain. The confrontation of these two world views champions an alternative social model, defended by the three communities and supporting a well-reasoned consumption that is conscious of its effects on the environment, health and well-being.

In addition, and unanimously in the three communities studied, the members place themselves in opposition to the dominant system by stigmatizing the relentless pursuit of profit and the race to accumulate material goods, on the one hand, and by praising slowness and sobriety (Rabhi 2010) through reasoned consumption for human and environmental well-being, on the other.

However, despite strong criticisms of marketing, it should be noted that the three communities are not opposed to the idea of using marketing’s weapons against it: developing logos, visual identities and slogans; and monitoring posts to recruit more members, respond to skeptics, and increase the fame of and loyalty to the community site. For example, the “Objecteurs de croissance” community, whose name is indicative, immediately suggests an anti-growth message. It has also developed a visual identity with a snail logo, in order to evoke the idea of slowness that the community lauds to promote a degrowth process. The visual identity of the community also has the slogan “Fewer goods, more links” (in the original French, the rhyming “Moins de biens, Plus de liens”), to establish the anti-growth idea and underline the importance of social connections.