Futures of sustainability: Trajectories and conflicts

Abstract

The increased awareness of the exploitation of resources, as well as the negative ecological consequences of the modern way of life, has made sustainability a central guiding concept of social change in the 21st century. Sustainability has taken the form of a largely undisputed normative model of development, behind which, however, very different conceptions of the future are concealed: from the attempt to initiate a major socio-ecological transformation, through modernization processes, to control practices in a state of emergency. This special issue aims at these practices but is not primarily concerned with sustainability as a normative guiding idea that can just be pursued. However, a sociology of sustainability has to ask which conflictual spaces of possibility for socioeconomic change open up when very different ideas of a sustainable future are in conflict with each other. Three ideal-typical trajectories or futures of sustainability emerge, which can be theoretically grasped with the terms modernization, transformation and control. These three concepts of a sustainable future can also be found in the ambivalent imaginations, practices and structures of various constellations of actors.

Löftet om hållbar utveckling

“…94 Hållbar utveckling var därmed fråga om en modernisering inom det rådande systemet snarare än något som krävde strukturella förändringar. 95 Det framtidsorienterade utvecklingsnarrativet gjorde att begreppet hållbar utveckling passade väl samman med idéer om kvantitativ ekonomisk tillväxt. 96 Som Erland Mårald hävdat var miljöpolitikens syfte inte att hindra den ekonomiska tillväxten utan snarare ansågs en god miljö kunna uppnås genom en god planering vilken varken riskerade sysselsättningen eller den ekonomiska utvecklingen.…”

Values and the making of standards in ‘sustainable’ coffee networks: The case of 4C and Nestlé in México

“…Similarly, the reasons and motivations for promoting the sustainability agenda differ according to the actors involved. This results in definitions that reflect conflicting visions that range from a transformative agroecological approach, through a green intensification of production, to a legitimizing façade for predatory practices (Adloff and Neckel, 2021; Constance et al, 2018; Toledo, 2015). In other words, the concept of sustainability found in standards leaves open a wide margin for interpretation and can even create competition between the different values.…”

“…The optimistic perspective considers sustainable development as the solution to avoid exceeding planetary limits by reconciling economic growth with environmental integrity (Sachs, 2015). A contrary perspective considers that economic growth itself is an obstacle to sustainable development (Adloff and Neckel, 2021).…”

Contested Visions for Transformation—The Visions of the Green New Deal and the Politics of Technology Assessment, Responsible Research and Innovation, and Sustainability Research

“…Besides this rather concrete institutionalization, sustainability is a central concept in many societies, which is, however, strongly contested. Different strategies, definitions, actors, and power constellations interpret the meaning of sustainability differently [29].…”