 The flawed paradigms of economics and sustainable developmentRichard Sanders International Journal of Sustainable Development, 2016, vol. 19, issue 2, 110-126 Abstract: This paper argues that the failure of the sustainable development paradigm is due to it being subsumed into the economic paradigm - a paradigm so disconnected from reality that it simply cannot address the sustainability problem. This arises from a failure to understand the fundamental contradiction between ecological imperatives and economic imperatives. An analysis of the financial system and its role in the problem leads to the conclusion it is the inevitable structural driver of ecological overshoot and increasing inequity. An examination of the origins of economic thought and the assumptions it is based on throws some light on the flawed theoretical foundations of economics. In light of these insights the final section considers how humanity might allocate the absolutely scarce resources of the planet so as to maximise the welfare of humanity while ensuring the very long term sustainability of the human enterprise. Keywords: flawed paradigms; sustainable development; ecological economics; sustainability; second law of thermodynamics; environmental economics; absolute scarcity; strong sustainability; physical budget constraints; critical natural capital; sustainability emergency; chrematistics; ecological overshoot; virtual wealth; economic paradox. (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ids:ijsusd:v:19:y:2016:i:2:p:110-126 Access Statistics for this article More articles in International Journal of Sustainable Development from Inderscience Enterprises Ltd |
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