Towards Sustainable Development : On the Goals of Development -- and the Conditions of Sustainability

The book brings together twelve original essays on the meaning and implications of sustainable development. The collection assesses the theoretical debate over the concept of sustainable development, and looks at the unique experiment in applying this practically which has taken place in Norway to discover how the concept can illuminate practical policy across a wide range of fields. Topics covered include sustainable development as a global ethics; the concept of need; global and generational equity; the limits of nature; implications for economics; and the role of technology. The editors outline the logic of the approach and draw together the implications of the individual studies for a more focused and consistent application of the concept. The idea of 'sustainable development' was given global prominence through the report of the World Commission on Environment and Development in 1987. Since then the concept has been heatedly debated, mostly from a critical point of view. There has been a general tendency to narrow the idea to cover only environmental `sustainability', neglecting vital aspects of both global solidarity and inter-generational equity. The purpose of the present book is to elaborate the integrated nature of the concept as it was originally outlined in the World Commission report. Given the key role of Norway's Prime Minister, Gro Harlem Brundtland, as head of the World Commission, it is appropriate that Norwegian social scientists attempt to develop the concept in a more constructive and pragmatic direction. The first step towards this goal is conceptual clarification of the original intent and interdependencies inherent in the concept. It is the opinion of the editors that the concept is both much more consistent and potentially much more radical than is frequently recognised. The book appears at a time when the commitments and accords from the Rio Earth Summit are being placed under increasing doubt. By presenting an integrated exposition of the underlying logic of sustainable development, the book aims to maintain and strengthen the concept's intellectual and moral appeal. While fully recognising the concept's weaknesses and ambiguities, the overall message of the book is that the concept is nonetheless the best available idea for achieving ecological balance with both global and generational equity Front Matter....Pages i-xiii Sustainable Development as Concept and Norm....Pages 1-29 A Global Ethic of Sustainability?....Pages 30-47 On Needs — a Central Concept in the Brundtland Report....Pages 48-69 Sustainable Development, State Sovereignty and International Justice....Pages 70-83 Sustainability, Morality and Future Generations....Pages 84-96 The Limits of Nature....Pages 97-110 Nature, Market and Ignorance: Can Development Be Managed?....Pages 111-136 Sustainable Development: Caught between National Sovereignty and International Challenges....Pages 137-155 Economic Analysis of Sustainability....Pages 156-172 Economic Initiatives and Sustainable Development: an Assessment of Possibilities and Limitations....Pages 173-192 The ‘Technology Factor’ in Sustainable Development....Pages 193-212 Future Challenges of Sustainable Development....Pages 213-239 Back Matter....Pages 240-270