Author: Ian Gough
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1785365118
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
This book builds an essential bridge between climate change and social policy. Combining ethics and human need theory with political economy and climate science, it offers a long-term, interdisciplinary analysis of the prospects for sustainable development and social justice. Beyond ‘green growth’ (which assumes an unprecedented rise in the emissions efficiency of production) it envisages two further policy stages vital for rich countries: a progressive ‘recomposition’ of consumption, and a post-growth ceiling on demand. An essential resource for scholars and policymakers.
Sustainable Capitalism and the Pursuit of Well-Being
Author: Neil E. Harrison
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135097461
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 212
Book Description
Sustainable development is the central challenge of the 21st Century. How can human civilization continue to develop without destroying the natural systems on which it depends?Environmentalists tell us that capitalism is the problem because it feeds our self-interest. They tell us that we have to restrain ourselves and only consume what the Earth can sustain. Or governments must tell us what we can and cannot buy. This book uses the science of complex systems to explain why governments cannot deliver sustainability or happiness and how self-interest can be used to make society sustainable. Capitalism won the Cold War; until the Great Recession of 2008, it seemed to be the perfect system. But more of us are unhappy even as it has ravaged the planet. The central problem is the paradigm on which our social systems are founded that more (consumption, production, possessions) is always better. Based on research from political economy, philosophy, and psychology, this book shows that the problem is not self-interest. We are unhappy because we have been taught that our interests are material and that buying 'stuff' will make us happy. Yet, social pressure to consume only prevents us from satisfying our basic psychological needs and fully enjoying life. For that we need to pursue our personal well-being. Because this also reduces our material consumption, environmental sustainability comes from each of us knowing what's truly good for our selves. Even without the constant economic growth that harms the planet and damages our lives, capitalism also is sustainable. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of sustainability;civil societyactivists and social entrepreneurs; thought leaders and policymakers. .
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135097461
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 212
Book Description
Sustainable development is the central challenge of the 21st Century. How can human civilization continue to develop without destroying the natural systems on which it depends?Environmentalists tell us that capitalism is the problem because it feeds our self-interest. They tell us that we have to restrain ourselves and only consume what the Earth can sustain. Or governments must tell us what we can and cannot buy. This book uses the science of complex systems to explain why governments cannot deliver sustainability or happiness and how self-interest can be used to make society sustainable. Capitalism won the Cold War; until the Great Recession of 2008, it seemed to be the perfect system. But more of us are unhappy even as it has ravaged the planet. The central problem is the paradigm on which our social systems are founded that more (consumption, production, possessions) is always better. Based on research from political economy, philosophy, and psychology, this book shows that the problem is not self-interest. We are unhappy because we have been taught that our interests are material and that buying 'stuff' will make us happy. Yet, social pressure to consume only prevents us from satisfying our basic psychological needs and fully enjoying life. For that we need to pursue our personal well-being. Because this also reduces our material consumption, environmental sustainability comes from each of us knowing what's truly good for our selves. Even without the constant economic growth that harms the planet and damages our lives, capitalism also is sustainable. This book will be of interest to scholars and students of sustainability;civil societyactivists and social entrepreneurs; thought leaders and policymakers. .
Sustainable Capitalism
Author: John E. Ikerd
Publisher: Kumarian Press
ISBN: 1565492064
Category : Capitalism
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
* Addresses the philosophical and scientific roots of sustainability * Examines neglected ethical and moral aspects of capitalist economic theory * Advocates a new sustainable paradigm for all living organizations, businesses, economics, and societies Over the past half-century, capitalist economics has deviated from its original social purpose into an amoral quest for economic growth at any cost. A relentless pursuit of profits and the "bottom line" poses a constant threat to the earth and the life upon it. Ikerd, who spent the first half of his thirty-year academic career as a traditional free-market, neoclassical economist, came to see the inherently extractive and exploitative nature of his own field and began to develop an alternative vision for capitalism, which he lays out in this book. In order to foster a new economics of sustainability, social and ethical values must be reintegrated into capitalist economics, thus restoring a sense of balance into the economic system that ensures that communities the world over will thrive. Rather than calling for the overthrow of capitalism, Ikerd suggests how capitalism can become a vehicle for these ends. Both a penetrating critique of capitalism and an exploration of its vast and untapped potential for maximizing human welfare, Sustainable Capitalism: A Matter of Common Senseis written for those concerned with the future of our planet and the continued viability of global capitalism.
Publisher: Kumarian Press
ISBN: 1565492064
Category : Capitalism
Languages : en
Pages : 228
Book Description
* Addresses the philosophical and scientific roots of sustainability * Examines neglected ethical and moral aspects of capitalist economic theory * Advocates a new sustainable paradigm for all living organizations, businesses, economics, and societies Over the past half-century, capitalist economics has deviated from its original social purpose into an amoral quest for economic growth at any cost. A relentless pursuit of profits and the "bottom line" poses a constant threat to the earth and the life upon it. Ikerd, who spent the first half of his thirty-year academic career as a traditional free-market, neoclassical economist, came to see the inherently extractive and exploitative nature of his own field and began to develop an alternative vision for capitalism, which he lays out in this book. In order to foster a new economics of sustainability, social and ethical values must be reintegrated into capitalist economics, thus restoring a sense of balance into the economic system that ensures that communities the world over will thrive. Rather than calling for the overthrow of capitalism, Ikerd suggests how capitalism can become a vehicle for these ends. Both a penetrating critique of capitalism and an exploration of its vast and untapped potential for maximizing human welfare, Sustainable Capitalism: A Matter of Common Senseis written for those concerned with the future of our planet and the continued viability of global capitalism.
Sustainability and Wellbeing
Author: Mònica Guillen-Royo
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317647270
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 202
Book Description
The idea that we can meet human needs and simultaneously conserve and even enhance the natural environment is an attractive one. Since the Brundtland report popularised a definition of sustainable development based on the concept of needs, there has been a widespread belief that it should be possible to achieve a good quality of life without compromising natural ecosystems. Sustainability and Wellbeing fills a gap in sustainable development studies by drawing on a range of case-studies to discuss the challenges and opportunities of using Max-Neef’s Human Scale Development (HSD) framework in practice. The first section presents the theory and the methodology of HSD in the context of related literature on sustainable development and wellbeing. The second section discusses applications of the HSD methodology with three different purposes: the design of sustainable development interventions; the engagement of researchers with communities or groups of people in sustainability processes and the consolidation of sustainable community initiatives. Finally, the third reflects on challenges and limitations of using the HSD approach to define strategies for sustainable development and concludes. This is an invaluable resource for researchers and postgraduate students in wellbeing, sustainability, sustainable development, and human development.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317647270
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 202
Book Description
The idea that we can meet human needs and simultaneously conserve and even enhance the natural environment is an attractive one. Since the Brundtland report popularised a definition of sustainable development based on the concept of needs, there has been a widespread belief that it should be possible to achieve a good quality of life without compromising natural ecosystems. Sustainability and Wellbeing fills a gap in sustainable development studies by drawing on a range of case-studies to discuss the challenges and opportunities of using Max-Neef’s Human Scale Development (HSD) framework in practice. The first section presents the theory and the methodology of HSD in the context of related literature on sustainable development and wellbeing. The second section discusses applications of the HSD methodology with three different purposes: the design of sustainable development interventions; the engagement of researchers with communities or groups of people in sustainability processes and the consolidation of sustainable community initiatives. Finally, the third reflects on challenges and limitations of using the HSD approach to define strategies for sustainable development and concludes. This is an invaluable resource for researchers and postgraduate students in wellbeing, sustainability, sustainable development, and human development.
Heat, Greed and Human Need
Author: Ian Gough
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1785365118
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
This book builds an essential bridge between climate change and social policy. Combining ethics and human need theory with political economy and climate science, it offers a long-term, interdisciplinary analysis of the prospects for sustainable development and social justice. Beyond ‘green growth’ (which assumes an unprecedented rise in the emissions efficiency of production) it envisages two further policy stages vital for rich countries: a progressive ‘recomposition’ of consumption, and a post-growth ceiling on demand. An essential resource for scholars and policymakers.
Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing
ISBN: 1785365118
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Book Description
This book builds an essential bridge between climate change and social policy. Combining ethics and human need theory with political economy and climate science, it offers a long-term, interdisciplinary analysis of the prospects for sustainable development and social justice. Beyond ‘green growth’ (which assumes an unprecedented rise in the emissions efficiency of production) it envisages two further policy stages vital for rich countries: a progressive ‘recomposition’ of consumption, and a post-growth ceiling on demand. An essential resource for scholars and policymakers.
Capitalism for All
Author: Neil E. Harrison
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438486995
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 267
Book Description
Capitalism has lost its glamor. In just three decades since it "defeated" a totalitarian Soviet Union, capitalism is today blamed for slowing growth, a dangerously changing climate, inequality, social misery, and a rise in nationalist populism. How did capitalism fall so far from grace? Capitalism for All show how, quite simply, the governments of the world’s wealthiest countries have forgotten capitalism’s initial purpose. It was born out of a liberal philosophy that values the competition of ideas and goods in the service of social progress while respecting the individual and preventing excessive power. Yet, with the aid of governments, giant corporations, or "MegaCorps," have usurped power, dominated markets, and reduced competition. The result is not liberal capitalism but what Neil E. Harrison and John Mikler term "CorpoCapitalism," which results in an unhappy populace seeking radical political change while challenges like climate change continue to race forward largely unchecked. Capitalism for All explores how CorpoCapitalism came to be, argues that it is not inevitable, and explains how governments can wrest back power and create a capitalism for all.
Publisher: State University of New York Press
ISBN: 1438486995
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 267
Book Description
Capitalism has lost its glamor. In just three decades since it "defeated" a totalitarian Soviet Union, capitalism is today blamed for slowing growth, a dangerously changing climate, inequality, social misery, and a rise in nationalist populism. How did capitalism fall so far from grace? Capitalism for All show how, quite simply, the governments of the world’s wealthiest countries have forgotten capitalism’s initial purpose. It was born out of a liberal philosophy that values the competition of ideas and goods in the service of social progress while respecting the individual and preventing excessive power. Yet, with the aid of governments, giant corporations, or "MegaCorps," have usurped power, dominated markets, and reduced competition. The result is not liberal capitalism but what Neil E. Harrison and John Mikler term "CorpoCapitalism," which results in an unhappy populace seeking radical political change while challenges like climate change continue to race forward largely unchecked. Capitalism for All explores how CorpoCapitalism came to be, argues that it is not inevitable, and explains how governments can wrest back power and create a capitalism for all.
Sustainable Development
Author: Paul Sillitoe
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1782383727
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 573
Book Description
With growing evidence of unsustainable use of the world’s resources, such as hydrocarbon reserves, and related environmental pollution, as in alarming climate change predictions, sustainable development is arguably the prominent issue of the 21st century. This volume gives a wide ranging introduction focusing on the arid Gulf region, where the challenges of sustainable development are starkly evident. The Gulf relies on non-renewable oil and gas exports to supply the world’s insatiable CO2 emitting energy demands, and has built unsustainable conurbations with water supplies dependent on energy hungry desalination plants and deep aquifers pumped beyond natural replenishment rates. Sustainable Development has an interdisciplinary focus, bringing together university faculty and government personnel from the Gulf, Europe, and North America -- including social and natural scientists, environmentalists and economists, architects and planners -- to discuss topics such as sustainable natural resource use and urbanization, industrial and technological development, economy and politics, history and geography.
Publisher: Berghahn Books
ISBN: 1782383727
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 573
Book Description
With growing evidence of unsustainable use of the world’s resources, such as hydrocarbon reserves, and related environmental pollution, as in alarming climate change predictions, sustainable development is arguably the prominent issue of the 21st century. This volume gives a wide ranging introduction focusing on the arid Gulf region, where the challenges of sustainable development are starkly evident. The Gulf relies on non-renewable oil and gas exports to supply the world’s insatiable CO2 emitting energy demands, and has built unsustainable conurbations with water supplies dependent on energy hungry desalination plants and deep aquifers pumped beyond natural replenishment rates. Sustainable Development has an interdisciplinary focus, bringing together university faculty and government personnel from the Gulf, Europe, and North America -- including social and natural scientists, environmentalists and economists, architects and planners -- to discuss topics such as sustainable natural resource use and urbanization, industrial and technological development, economy and politics, history and geography.
Measuring Welfare beyond Economics
Author: Claudio O. Delang
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135080720
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 199
Book Description
Dissatisfaction with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as an indicator of a country’s development or a population’s wellbeing led to the development of the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). The GPI is an aggregate index of over 20 economic, social and environmental indicators, and accounts for both the welfare benefits of economic growth, and the social and environmental costs which accompany that economic growth. The result is better information about the level of welfare or well-being of a country’s population. This book measures the GPI of Hong Kong and Singapore from 1968 to 2010. It finds that for both countries, economic output (as measured by the GDP) has grown more than welfare (as measured by the GPI), but important differences are also found. In Hong Kong, the GPI has grown for the whole period under consideration, while in Singapore the GPI has stalled from 1993. This is in line with most countries and is explained by the "threshold hypothesis" which states that beyond a certain level of economic development the benefits of further economic growth are outweighed by even higher environmental and social costs. The book argues that the growth of Hong Kong’s GPI is due to its favourable relationship with China and in particular its ability to export low-wage jobs and polluting industries, rather than successful domestic policies. A stalling or shrinking GPI calls for alternative policies than the growth economy promoted by neoclassical economists, and the book explores an alternative model, that of the Steady State Economy (SSE).
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1135080720
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 199
Book Description
Dissatisfaction with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as an indicator of a country’s development or a population’s wellbeing led to the development of the Genuine Progress Indicator (GPI). The GPI is an aggregate index of over 20 economic, social and environmental indicators, and accounts for both the welfare benefits of economic growth, and the social and environmental costs which accompany that economic growth. The result is better information about the level of welfare or well-being of a country’s population. This book measures the GPI of Hong Kong and Singapore from 1968 to 2010. It finds that for both countries, economic output (as measured by the GDP) has grown more than welfare (as measured by the GPI), but important differences are also found. In Hong Kong, the GPI has grown for the whole period under consideration, while in Singapore the GPI has stalled from 1993. This is in line with most countries and is explained by the "threshold hypothesis" which states that beyond a certain level of economic development the benefits of further economic growth are outweighed by even higher environmental and social costs. The book argues that the growth of Hong Kong’s GPI is due to its favourable relationship with China and in particular its ability to export low-wage jobs and polluting industries, rather than successful domestic policies. A stalling or shrinking GPI calls for alternative policies than the growth economy promoted by neoclassical economists, and the book explores an alternative model, that of the Steady State Economy (SSE).
Theories of Sustainable Development
Author: Judith C. Enders
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317634624
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 248
Book Description
While sustainability has become a buzzword in discussions about the environment and development, work on theories of sustainable development has received much less attention. However, theory is vital as understanding the origins and development of the concept is the key to achieving successful implementation of sustainability. This book offers an interdisciplinary collection of research articles on the theories of sustainable development, drawing on a wide range of subjects including history, politics, governance, complex systems, economics and philosophy. It advocates viewing sustainable development not only as the establishment of a permanent, globally practicable and future-capable mode of life and economics, but as a complex array of problems involving a wide range of social-scientific and humanistic disciplines. This innovative approach means that the book is oriented toward current problems, not toward the established academic boundaries, and it draws out lessons that are relevant for those studying and working in sustainability across the world. This book will be of great interest to researchers and students of sustainable development and environmental politics, as well as practitioners working with sustainable development in politics, business, administration, and civil society organizations.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317634624
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 248
Book Description
While sustainability has become a buzzword in discussions about the environment and development, work on theories of sustainable development has received much less attention. However, theory is vital as understanding the origins and development of the concept is the key to achieving successful implementation of sustainability. This book offers an interdisciplinary collection of research articles on the theories of sustainable development, drawing on a wide range of subjects including history, politics, governance, complex systems, economics and philosophy. It advocates viewing sustainable development not only as the establishment of a permanent, globally practicable and future-capable mode of life and economics, but as a complex array of problems involving a wide range of social-scientific and humanistic disciplines. This innovative approach means that the book is oriented toward current problems, not toward the established academic boundaries, and it draws out lessons that are relevant for those studying and working in sustainability across the world. This book will be of great interest to researchers and students of sustainable development and environmental politics, as well as practitioners working with sustainable development in politics, business, administration, and civil society organizations.
Transformative Sustainable Development
Author: Kei Otsuki
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136179488
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 184
Book Description
Recent debates about sustainable development have shifted their focus from fixing environmental problems in a technocratic and economic way to more fundamental changes in social-political processes and relations. In this context, participation is a genuinely transformative approach to sustainable development, yet the process by which participation leads to transformation is not sufficiently understood. This book considers how the act of participating in sustainable development projects can bring about social transformation that is considered to be fair and just by the participants and non-participants in a broader societal context. Drawing on ideas from social theory and applied anthropology, the book proposes a reflexivity-based framework to analyse participation as a type of social action underpinned by primary experience. Development projects have a transformative effect when participants are given the opportunity to reflect on their experience, share the reflection with others, and open new space for collective deliberation and change. The book applies this framework to assess community-based participatory projects in the Amazon, African slums and rural settlements, and disaster stricken areas in Japan. It also outlines potential institutions of governance to institutionalize the change by referring to current food governance, drawing out lessons with international relevance. This book will be of interest to students of sustainable development, environmental policy and development studies, as well as practitioners and policy-makers in these fields.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1136179488
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 184
Book Description
Recent debates about sustainable development have shifted their focus from fixing environmental problems in a technocratic and economic way to more fundamental changes in social-political processes and relations. In this context, participation is a genuinely transformative approach to sustainable development, yet the process by which participation leads to transformation is not sufficiently understood. This book considers how the act of participating in sustainable development projects can bring about social transformation that is considered to be fair and just by the participants and non-participants in a broader societal context. Drawing on ideas from social theory and applied anthropology, the book proposes a reflexivity-based framework to analyse participation as a type of social action underpinned by primary experience. Development projects have a transformative effect when participants are given the opportunity to reflect on their experience, share the reflection with others, and open new space for collective deliberation and change. The book applies this framework to assess community-based participatory projects in the Amazon, African slums and rural settlements, and disaster stricken areas in Japan. It also outlines potential institutions of governance to institutionalize the change by referring to current food governance, drawing out lessons with international relevance. This book will be of interest to students of sustainable development, environmental policy and development studies, as well as practitioners and policy-makers in these fields.
Legal Perspectives on Sustainability
Author: Margherita Pieraccini
Publisher: Bristol University Press
ISBN: 1529201004
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 254
Book Description
This important volume steps beyond conventional legal approaches to sustainability to provide fresh insights into perhaps one of the most critical global challenges of our time. Offering analysis of sustainability at land and sea alongside trade, labour and corporate governance perspectives, this book articulates important debates about the role of law. From impacts on local societies to domestic sustainable development policies and major international goals, it considers multiple jurisdictional levels. With original, interdisciplinary research from experts in their legal fields, this is a rounded assessment of the complex interplay of law and sustainability—both as it is now and as it should be in the future.
Publisher: Bristol University Press
ISBN: 1529201004
Category : Law
Languages : en
Pages : 254
Book Description
This important volume steps beyond conventional legal approaches to sustainability to provide fresh insights into perhaps one of the most critical global challenges of our time. Offering analysis of sustainability at land and sea alongside trade, labour and corporate governance perspectives, this book articulates important debates about the role of law. From impacts on local societies to domestic sustainable development policies and major international goals, it considers multiple jurisdictional levels. With original, interdisciplinary research from experts in their legal fields, this is a rounded assessment of the complex interplay of law and sustainability—both as it is now and as it should be in the future.