The politics of sustainability

Abstract

Humankind's survival is threatened less by the "big bang" of nuclear warfare than by the banal but equally fatal "whimper" accompanying the destruction of our natural environment. Who is responsible for this war against nature? Why are we destroying the very basis of existence on this planet? In nearly every instance, we are all at fault. In part, the problem can be traced to the nature of our socioeconomic system. We are suffering from what might be termed a "global lifestyle disease". We have developed a rapacious economy that values little its effects on the natural environment. Until very recently, these effects were omitted from our economic measures and equations. Nature was an "externality" whose abundance and infinite resilience were taken for granted. We stand at an important juncture in our political development. We must appreciate and understand the significance of political changes if we are going to be successful in achieving progress in the three areas of sustainable development: economy, environment and social equity. The politics of sustainability is the politics of survival in the 21st Century.