Theories of Sustainability

• weight the different arguments according to their importance to take an optimal decision
  • identify alternative actions 
  • evaluation of criterias (give them value)
  • decisions w forumla: weighted sum of options 

• Bentham + Stuart Mill 
• moral value of action measured by contribution to increase (welfare, utility, happiness)
• consequentialism: best alternative w most desirable consequences 

• intuitive decisions led by intelligence of the unconscious 
  • intellect ≠ involved 
• gap btw theory (model calculations) and reality (feelings) 

• justifies decisions and measures without gaps 
• social engineering: policy is just applied science 

Good politicans act instinctively and intuitively 

need both scientific reasoning and intuition 

• ability of a person to bridge btw specific situation and general aspects / rules 
• faculty of subsumption of rules (naming various phenomena to put them under one umbrella) 
  • bottom up instead of top down
  • heuristics
  • one needs feelings

• Determinative judgement: starting point is a rule, determining which cases belong to rule (top down)
  • Presumes reflective judgement
• Reflective judgement: starting point is a case, reflecting which rules fit to case (bottom up) 
• For Kant, when we make judgement, we always start from specific (reflective) 

• Judgement uses heuristics: rules and bridging principles that provide orientation when searching 
• Universal principle of judgement (Kant): when judging, human presumes that world is structured in a comprehensible way -> it makes sense to search for rules & laws 

• Kant: seek agreement with others -> helpful to judge from point of view of impartial observer, = common sense 
  • Not only for personal interest but for interest of all
• Aristotle: find the right balance in middle of extremes, move away from inclinations 

• Refrain from personal inclinations, interests, and ideology 
• Objectiveness: understand & act for sake of the concern
• Openness for dialog: try to understand others 

1. Chronos: Homogenous concept: measurable (ex on clock or calendar)
   1. for scientific analysis 
2. Kairos: Heterogenous concept of time (right time to act), window of opportunity 
   1. for decision making and practical action 
3. inherent dynamics: Natural course of things ex. life span of anima
   1. Temporal boundary conditions for action 

1. Identify relevant stocks: use previous knowledge on material stocks and persistent institutions and check their relevance  
2. Sketch inherent time of stocks: use previous knowledge on material stocks and persistent institutions and check their relevance 
3. Integrate dynamics of stocks to overall picture, search window of opportunity: picture as simple as possible but as complex as necessary. Judgement of analyst is necessary  

• A stock is a set of material elements that is persistent 
• Persistency measured against time scale of observation (chronos) -> depends on the scale chosen 

• Stock dynamic Is typically non-static but inertial, change takes time 
• Long time spans for built-up or change of whole system 
• Complex dynamics 

• Background for behavior and decisions 
• Circumstances for practical action are changing over time
  • Inherent time of circumstances matters for decision making 
• Circumstances cannot be fully described as material entities 

• institutions of embeddedness
  • ex culture and norms
  • inherent time = millenia
• high levelformal rules
  • ex constitutions 
  • inherent time = centuries
• institutions of governance
  • ex governance structure
  • inherent time = years 
• prices and quantities 
  • ex individual contracts
  • inherent time: continuously 

• Political action needs judgement
• Judgement uses heuristics
• Sustainability needs time 

• Identify relevant stocks
• Sketch their inherent time
• Integrate to overall picture and identify Kairos
• -> helps you to know when to act 

risk of overexploitation because individuals have incentive to take more than is socially desirable 

• freedom in commons brings ruin to all
• solutions
  • government regulation
  • provatization 

• tragedies of commons are real but not inevitable 
• communities can self organize 

• user interest in collaborative sustainable use of commons
• shared undertanding of resource system
• monitoring of commons and compliance to rules 
• expected profits > transaction costs 

• oil crisis
• limits to growth (club of rome)
• industrial accidents
• political awareness 

• examined trends
  • global pop
  • industrialization
  • pollution
  • food production
  • resource depletion

• exponential growth of population and pollution
• linear growth of technology to increase available resources 

absolute limits to earth will be reached in 100y (from 1972) 

development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the future generations to meet their needs 

limits to meet needs imposed by technology and social organization 

1. Meeting needs in long term, inter-generational justice
2. intragenerational justice (north-south conflict)
3. protection of nature to serve humans 

• lack of contour of concept and content
• compromise between 2 antagonistic interests
  • developing countries catching up
  • industrialized countries limiting growth 

1992, follow up Brutland def 

• 27 principles to guide for SD
• Agena 21 

• Sustainability = balance btw environment, society and economy 
  • pro: imbalance recognized as unsustainability
  • con: difficult to operationalize 

• equal disribution of needs or performance?
• Other moral values than (distributional) justice? 
• how to compare well being btw generations?

• justice as fairness includes
  • liberty principle
  • fair equality of opportunity
  • difference principle 

• each person has equal right to liberty compatible w others'
• social and ecc inequalities must
  • benefit the least advantaged
  • be open to all (fair equality of opportunity)
• principle of justice chosen by parties in original position (veil of ignorance) 

• pros
  • considers fair distribution and freedom (various moral values)
  • addresses intergenerational justice and time
  • addresses 2 categories of fair distribution (needs and performance) 
• question: operationalization of difference principle?

1. scientific route
   1. economic
   2. natural science
   3. ecological-economic
2. ethical route 

• sustainability = preservation 
• described as observable property of a system