Rethinking Sustainable Development: Considering How Different Worldviews Envision “Development” and “Quality of Life”

Abstract

Abstract:The concept of sustainable development does not articulate what needs to be sustained, developed, or how, and is consequently intersubjective and intercultural. I therefore argue that it is essential to consider different worldviews when discussing sustainable development, and I offer broad, provisional suggestions as to how we can begin doing this. I first discuss how the notion of sustainable development at its heart is an attempt to unite conservation with growth. I then consider how different worldviews relate to this unitary ideal, by articulating how they envision "development" and "quality of life". I do this by drawing on the Integrative Worldview Framework, which distinguishes between multiple, ideal-typical worldviews. However, I argue that more important than any typology of worldviews is the reflexive attitude a worldview-perspective supports. I conclude with implications for more reflexive and inclusive forms of policy-making, also in light of the to-be-formulated Sustainable Development Goals.

Concepts and practices for the democratisation of knowledge generation in research partnerships for sustainable development

“…Economic shocks and ecological decline in the 1970s and early 1980s had clearly exposed the limits of economic growth -and welfare -in alleviating poverty and disparities (WCED, 1987;Harding, 2012). It is widely acknowledged that the original conceptualisation of sustainable development was vague -with dissent about this being necessary, supportive, or counterproductive (see Hedlund-de Witt, 2014). But the point of interest here is a considerable consensus among sustainability scholars on the original conceptualisation's transformative potential (Dedeurwaerdere, 2014 ).…”

“…Authors like Hedlund-de Witt (2014) and Tàbara and Chabay (2013) elucidate how different worldviews shape our understanding of the concept of sustainable development. They also further underline the need for clarification of our epistemological background and for more reflexive and inclusive forms of policymaking.…”

“…Scholars see a major reason in its original conceptualisation (Hedlund-de Witt, 2014). They argue that the sustainability paradigm itself is inherently ambiguous, enabling the rise of both eco-modernist constructions coupled with weak sustainability, on the one hand, and rare radical constructions of strong sustainability, on the other (Springett, 2005:130f;Sneddon et al, 2006;Waas et al, 2011).…”

Climate Change and the Clash of Worldviews: An Exploration of How to Move Forward in a Polarized Debate

“…This section, which discusses the Integrative Worldview Framework (IWF) in a general fashion, has been published in a slightly different version before (Hedlund‐de Witt ).…”

Imagining socioecological transformation: An analysis of the Welsh Government’s policy innovations and orientations to the future

“…This attention to values is certainly something to be admired; the importance of constructing narratives about environmental change that align with people's existing values and worldviews-which are diverse even within one country-is increasingly recognized (e.g. Crompton, 2010;Schwartz, 2012;Hedlund-de Witt, 2014). It has also been shown that catastrophic imagery regarding climate change is more likely to disempoewer and disengage publics than imagery that is more associated with solutions, and that this has important implications for imagining climate futures (O'Neill and Smith, 2013).…”