Forces driving sustainability
Chapter 2 - Society
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Welcome to the Forces driving sustainability page
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The early economic theory of value, presented in varying forms in the works of Adam Smith, Karl Marx, David Ricardo, and John Locke, asserts that the economic value of a good or service is determined by the amount of labour exerted in production.
Modern economists reject this explanation and claim that supply and demand determine economic value.
George Tsakraklides explains: "The real economy of this planet is its forests and oceans. Its currency is water, food, oxygen, and sunlight. Its stock market is the ecosystems and climate systems that balance these resources' allocation." The choice is simple: regeneration or extinction. Finally, there is no regeneration without the regeneration of the Common Good.
We believe that the energy surplus extracted from natural resources - above and beyond what we need - forms the basis of our cultural economy. The balance between what we need and what we want and can do urgently needs to be restored.
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Core ideas
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Thinking
Coherence
The coherence theory of truth defines coherence as a relationship between propositions or beliefs within a system. Coherence generally encompasses two key aspects:
- Consistency: A coherent set of beliefs or propositions must be logically consistent, meaning they do not contradict each other
- Connectedness: The beliefs or propositions in a coherent system must be interconnected, with each element having logical relationships to others in the set
It's important to note that perfect coherence is not expected, especially in scientific theories where new observational facts must be integrated with existing knowledge. The degree of coherence can vary, with some coherence theorists arguing that truth comes in degrees depending on how well a belief coheres with other beliefs in the system.
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Development
In short, it means improving everyone's lives. For now, Maslow's basic needs are still applicable in many places: sufficient food to maintain good health, a healthy place to live, and dignity. If we transcend this, we enter a cultural zone where development becomes the subject of democratic discussion and decision-making. This leads to egalitarian ethics, a better life for all, although this can be a continuous discussion depending on the values and norms present.
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Paradigma shift
It is about correctly understanding Darwin's meme, "the survival of the fittest". It is not about the behaviour of an organism/organisation that is most successful. It is about the organism/organisation with the best set of genes/ways of working adapted to (new) circumstances that can be passed on to the next generation. This last part is especially often missing in the reasoning. Growth (producing more goods and services) has no long-term perspective. Development as a species/humanity has because development is not interested in the economy's growth but supports the conditions under which production occurs and the results that flow from these processes.
The paradigm shift goes
- from what good is for the individual is good for us all (society)
- to what good is for us all (society) is good for the individual
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Economy
(Economic) growth
In short, it means achieving a more massive economy (a bigger pie) that produces more goods and services. Economic growth occurs when more productive resources (capital, people, land, equipment) are employed to produce more goods and services. The core belief is that revenue comes from meritocracy, and wealth will trickle down throughout society, without any ethical basis.
BUT
The limits of this growth lie in the tangible and intangible resources available. In the industrial age in which we now live, we relied mainly on tangible raw materials that provide us with energy in a simple way. This led to a (Jevons) paradox: innovation aimed at using energy sources more and more efficiently has led to us consuming those sources increasingly rapidly, unaware of the devastating consequences of using this energy for climate and human equality.
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What science can tell you
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| Marie Claire Brisbois - Coping with decarbonisation: An inventory of strategies from resistance to transformation - Global Environmental Change - 2025 |
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| Decarbonisation is progressing rapidly and different actors respond to its impacts in different ways. Whether these responses seek to resist decarbonisation, adapt to new realities, or fundamentally transform the social and economic conditions that define decarbonisation contexts depends on the actor groups in question and the resources they are able to draw upon. |
| https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0959378025000056?dgcid=raven |
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