Towards a Sustainability-Based Society: An Analysis of Fundamental Values from the Perspective of Economics and Philosophy

Abstract

Sustainability faces numerous challenges when applied to the real-world global economic model of capitalism. In implementing sustainability planning based on the triple bottom line (TBL), the prevailing trend of the economic pillar compromises both the environment and society. A new vision of enduring sustainability is proposed in this paper to address such challenges by first considering the global economic model in the real world and, second, having strong core values of sustainability. To evaluate the first characteristic, a review of the literature regarding capitalism and TBL-sustainability has been conducted. For the second characteristic, a historical–philosophical discussion around the role of society and the economy has been conducted. The results suggest that a realistic sustainable society requires a fixed and sustained focus on environmental and social pillars together with a flexible organisation of society (including its economic model).

Societal sustainable development and long‐run economic growth: How do we stand?

“…Sustainability at the societal level entails the capacity of a society to endure long historical periods (Hereu‐Morales & Valderrama, 2022). Sustainable development is a multifaceted concept that has been defined in numerous ways throughout history, with an emphasis on one or other of its ecological, social or economic pillars due to the difficulties in balancing all three aspects in an intergenerational approach (Sarwar et al, 2021).…”

The European (Green?) Deal: a systematic analysis of environmental sustainability

“…This defines the EGD as a continuation of the green growth discourse of the EU, based on the compatibility between environmental protection and GDP growth (Ossewaarde & Ossewaarde‐Lowtoo, 2020). Therefore, EDG‐driven changes will lead to additional environmental degradation and greater social and economic inequality, which are signs of unsustainability (Eckert & Kovalevska, 2021; Hereu‐Morales & Valderrama, 2022). Furthermore, Samper et al (2021) argued that the EGD might only serve as a justification for EU Member States to delay implementing transformative climate policies and therefore perpetuate socioeconomic behaviours and institutional arrangements that are overly responsible for the climate crisis.…”

“…The notions of strong sustainability differ from the TBL by not considering the economy as a fundamental pillar of sustainability, but they do consider the environmental and social pillars (Michelsen et al, 2016); a sustainable society is achieved through a priority balance in the environmental pillar, followed by balance in the social, and considering the economy as an organisational feature of society (Hereu‐Morales & Valderrama, 2022). Such balances allow the endurance of society over time.…”

“…Such concerns have motivated this work to undergo an evaluation of the environmental sustainability of the transformational plans within the EGD, which will define future public planning in the EU member states. The analysis focuses on the environmental pillar of sustainability as it is the core of so‐called strong sustainability visions (Hereu‐Morales & Valderrama, 2022; Michelsen et al, 2016), leaving social and economic sustainability out of the scope of this work.…”

An Emergent Transdisciplinary Methodology for Effective Collaboration in Ecological Economics

“…xi).) Regarding the need to get beyond GDP, see, e.g., [48][49][50][51], none of which, however, challenge mainstream accounts of the mechanics of economic process. The textbook by Common and Stagl [52] assumes mainstream economics throughout.…”