Sustainable Development as Concept and Norm

William M. Lafferty and Oluf Langhelle

Chapter 1 in Towards Sustainable Development, 1999, pp 1-29 from Palgrave Macmillan

Abstract: Abstract The idea of sustainable development has survived nearly a decade of rhetorical excess and academic criticism. From the Brundtland Report Our Common Future to Agenda 21, it has remained the central goal and guiding norm of environment-and-development politics. Though an ‘essentially contested concept’, it retains a widespread moral appeal. This is possibly due to the concept’s dual ethical foundation. By giving expression to both ‘realist’ (natural-law) and ‘consensualist’ (democratic) norms, it can claim support with respect to a broad spectrum of moral imperatives. The potential of the idea as a mobilising force for domestic political change lies in a combination of scientifically based moral urgency and a near-unanimous global acclamation. In addition, the politics of the UNCED process provide new and effective arenas for an emerging global civil society at a time of declining influence for national interest groups.

Keywords: Sustainable Development; Gross National Product; Social Equity; Global Civil Society; Common Future (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1999
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DOI: 10.1057/9780230378797_1

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