The Physical Destruction of Nauru: An Example of Weak Sustainability

Gowdy, John M.; McDaniel, Carl N.

doi:10.2307/3147015

Cited by 68 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 14 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…substitutability and discounting (see e.g. Gowdy & McDaniel, 1999;Gowdy, Rosser, & Roy, 2013;Munda, 2014;Samuelson, 1937). 9.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond welfare economics: some methodological issues

Munda

2016

Journal of Economic Methodology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

When one wishes to formulate, evaluate and implement public policies, the existence of a plurality of social actors, with interest in the policy being assessed, generates a conflictual situation. How such a conflict should be dealt with? This paper defends the thesis articulated in the following points: (1) Different metrics are linked to different objectives and values. To use only one measurement unit (on the grounds of the so-called commensurability principle) for incorporating a plurality of dimensions, objectives and values, implies reductionism necessarily. (2) Point (1) can be proven as a matter of formal logic by drawing on the work of Geach about moral philosophy. This theoretical demonstration is an original contribution of this article. Moreover, here the distinction between predicative and attributive adjectives is formalised and definitions are provided. Predicative adjectives are further distinguished into the new categories of absolute and relative ones. The new concepts of set commensurability and rod commensurability are introduced too. (3) Weak comparability of values, which is grounded on incommensurability, is proposed as the main methodological foundation of well-being evaluation. Incommensurability does not imply incomparability; on the contrary incommensurability is the only possible way to compare societal options under a plurality of policy objectives. Weak comparability can be implemented by using multicriteria evaluation, which is a formal framework for applied consequentialism under incommensurability.

show abstract

“…substitutability and discounting (see e.g. Gowdy & McDaniel, 1999;Gowdy, Rosser, & Roy, 2013;Munda, 2014;Samuelson, 1937). 9.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond welfare economics: some methodological issues

Munda

2016

Journal of Economic Methodology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Advocates of strong sustainability argue that a minimum necessary condition is that the stock of natural capital be maintained Turner, 1990, Gowdy andMcDaniel, 1999). In between is the viewpoint that certain stocks of 'critical natural capital' have no substitutes, so that they must be maintained in addition to the general aggregate capital stock (Victor, 1991(Victor, , , 2007.…”

Section: The Context: Environmental Discussion and Sustainable Develomentioning

confidence: 99%

Future generations: Economic, legal and institutional aspects

Hubacek

Mauerhofer²

2008

Futures

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract:In economics, the issue of 'future generations' is mainly related to the environmental problems of resource consumption and pollution and their distribution over long time horizons. This paper critically discusses fundamental concepts in economics, such as efficiency and optimality, in relation to the incorporation of future generations in present day decision making. Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) and discounting are used as a starting point and criticized for its inherent flaws such as incommensurability of values and its tendency to hide rather than reveal underlying values which are assumed to be fixed. We then investigate alternative approaches, in which, unlike in CBA, the preferences are not assumed to be a priori but must be constructed. Thus interest groups or individuals must sit down together and figure out what things seem to be worth.The aim is to involve all interested parties in planning for the future.Similarly, on a national and regional level, increasingly stakeholder processes, deliberative and interest group procedures are used to develop strategies and visions for resource management and conservation. A similar case can be made for institutions at the international level. The legal examples provided in this paper show that rather than only installing an institution such as the guardian for the future on the global level, more "democratizised" bottom up approaches might be more appropriate.

show abstract

“…This is because such a perspective incorporates an overriding concern to increase manufactured capital even when such development results in the destruction of natural environmental resources, particularly those essential for human survival. An oft quoted example of the implications of weak sustainability advocating unbridled growth in economic capital to the detriment of natural resources is provided by the catastrophic effects it incurred on the small Pacific island of Nauru [28]. It was discovered on the island of Nauru in 1900 that it contained one of the richest deposits of phosphate in the world.…”

Section: Strong and Weak Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Entropic Citizenship Behavior and Sustainability in Urban Organizations: Towards a Theoretical Model

Coldwell

2016

Entropy

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Entropy is a concept derived from Physics that has been used to describe natural and social systems' structure and behavior. Applications of the concept in the social sciences so far have been largely limited to the disciplines of economics and sociology. In the current paper, the concept of entropy is applied to organizational citizenship behavior with implications for urban organizational sustainability. A heuristic is presented for analysing personal and organizational citizenship configurations and distributions within a given workforce that can lead to corporate entropy; and for allowing prescriptive remedial steps to be taken to manage the process, should entropy from this source threaten its sustainability and survival.

show abstract

The Physical Destruction of Nauru: An Example of Weak Sustainability

Cited by 68 publications

References 14 publications

Beyond welfare economics: some methodological issues

Beyond welfare economics: some methodological issues

Future generations: Economic, legal and institutional aspects

Entropic Citizenship Behavior and Sustainability in Urban Organizations: Towards a Theoretical Model

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About