Metaphors of Nature and Economic Development: Critical Education for Sustainable Business

Abstract

Neoliberal discourse often conceptualizes nature in relation to its market utility and economic development. This article will address the role of metaphors in shaping neoliberal discourse in business education. The aim of this article is to reveal reasoning patterns about environmental problems and economic development in students of sustainable business minor. The case study described in this article involves business students at The Hague University in The Netherlands. This case study aimed to explore a shift in student understanding of environmental problems and economic development before and after the intervention. The results suggest that critical curriculum can inform students about the alternative conceptions as well as instruct them about potential solutions to the sustainability challenges. The article culminates with the argument that without goal-oriented education for sustainability; neoliberal education may not permit transcendence from unsustainable practices.

“Greening” the Youth Employment—A Chance for Sustainable Development

“…Kopnina, H. [5] shows that the development of a sustainable business environment begins with informing pupils and students about the alternative conceptions as well as instructing them about potential solutions to the sustainability challenges. Sustainable economic development cannot be unless there is goal-oriented education for sustainability.…”

Neoliberalism and justice in education for sustainable development: a call for inclusive pluralism

“…Countering this, others have doubted whether an open pluralistic space alone will enhance individuals' competences to act on behalf of the environment (RICKINSON 2003;Smith 2003;Chawla and Cushing 2007;Kopnina 2013aKopnina , 2013bKopnina , 2014aKopnina , 2014bKopnina , 2014cKopnina , 2015. As Washington (2015, 370) has pointed out, pluralism as it is currently conceived is grossly inadequate for environmental protection.…”

“…If technological substitutes for 'natural resources' or 'ecosystems services' are found, the disappearance of the 'useless' species may remain unnoticed. Additionally, concerns about limits to growth are often relayed through their potential limits to human development, precluding radical solutions that might be necessary to resolve these problems (Kopnina 2012a(Kopnina , 2013a(Kopnina , 2014a(Kopnina , 2014b.…”

Of big hegemonies and little tigers: Ecocentrism and environmental justice

“…The vantage point I elaborated elsewhere combines the philosophical perspective of ecocentrism and its reinterpretations in, for example, environmental justice, and identifies anthropocentrism as a close ally of neoliberalism (Kopnina, 2012a(Kopnina, , 2012b(Kopnina, , 2013a(Kopnina, , 2013b(Kopnina, , 2013c(Kopnina, , 2014aKopnina & Meijers, 2014;Kopnina & Shoreman-Ouimet, 2015). Crucial here is the conception of environmental justice as primarily socially based-be it intergenerational (justice between present and future generations of people) or intragenerational distributive justice (among different group of people within nations or between nations).…”

“…In one of my case studies of International Business Management Studies in the Netherlands a student reflected neoliberalism "allows us to choose between different ways of living our lives… and being sustainable." Discussing students' reaction to viewing the film Schooling the World, which criticizes Western education for neoliberal indoctrination, another student reflected: "Education makes it possible to question these images of a perfect world critically and value the own traditions and use the best aspects of both the modern and the traditional way of life" (Kopnina, 2013a(Kopnina, , 2014a(Kopnina, , 2015a. 2.…”