The Quest for Sustainable Development

Abstract

It was not until the late 1960s and the early 1970s that the “environment” became a significant element on the political agenda in developed nations. This was largely a response not only to the spectacular growth of the Western economies, but also to the continued extensive industrialization of the rest of the world. The phrase “sustainable development” was firstly popularized by the World Commission for Environment and Development (WCED, 1987). Since that time, much attention for defining “sustainable development” has been given by the worldwide environmentalists and economists. For example, Pearce et al. (1988, p. 6) state “We can summarize the necessary conditions for sustainable development as constancy of the natural capital stock; more strictly, the requirement for non-negative changes in the stock of natural resources, such as soil and soil quality, ground and surface water and their quality, land biomass, water biomass, and the waste-assimilation capacity of the receiving environments”. Another example cited by Solow (1991) from an UNESCO document is as “… every generation should leave water, air and soil resources as pure and unpolluted as when it came on earth”. The above two passages involve a category mistake being to identify the determinants of well-being with the constituents of well-being (for example, welfare, freedom, and so on), as sustainable development is defined as an impossible goal by these authors.

Xishi, known for her peerless beauty, was beset by some sort of heart trouble, and so she was often seen knitting her brows and walking with a hand on her chest. Now there was an ugly woman, named Dongshi, in the neighborhood who one day saw Xishi in the village street. In admiration she returned home determined to imitate Xishi’s way of walking and mannerisms. But this only increased her ugliness. So much so that every time she walked abroad the rich would shut their doors tight and disdain to come out, while the poor with their wives and children would avoid her and quickly turn their steps away. Alas, that woman mistook frowning for something invariably beautiful, and was unaware that it only adds beauty to a real beauty.

— Zhuangzi (c.368–286 BC)