A Global Ethic of Sustainability?

Abstract

What is implied by a global ethic if it is to provide the normative premises for sustainable development, and how sustainable is such an ethic in relation to moral opinion, nationally and internationally? This essay is an attempt to contribute an answer to this question. It takes its point of departure from the report of the World Commission for Environment and Development: Our Common Future, also called The Brundtland Report. This report provides strong recommendations for sustainable development both in OECD countries and in developing countries. But how are these recommendations substantiated? According to the interpretation that is suggested here, we can distinguish between two types of premises: the normative that concerns a global ethic, and the descriptive that concerns empirical hypotheses on the conditions for sustainable development. The normative premises involve some strong presuppositions on welfare and social justice for all humans in the present and in the future. The report hints at these normative presuppositions, but it makes no attempt to clarify them in more detail. It is a philosophical challenge to clarify what they imply, and how they can possibly be substantiated convincingly. The issue is discussed in connection with John Rawls’s theory on social justice, and a radical interpretation of it concerning international relations.