The Need for a Narrative Theory of Sustainable Development

Edgar Hertwich

MPRA Paper from University Library of Munich, Germany

Abstract: Much science advice today is predicated on the information-deficit model, in which facts have agency or the administrative state makes policy primarily based on information. Sustainable development addresses environmental and social aspects while leaving the economy to market forces, individual lives to the unfettered influence of companies, and the organization of society shaped by tech bros. This model is no longer fit, and a more powerful narrative is needed that shows the path to how we ourselves can achieve a fundamental transformation of economy and society through the building of a new culture and institutions. Here I sketch what I think should be elements of such a sustainable development narrative rooted in natural history and insights to human nature observed in history and by social sciences. The manuscript serves to stimulate a discussion that at some point will lead to a full-fledged narrative theory of sustainable development, created by many.

Keywords: collective action problem; sustainable development goals; climate change mitigation; co-evolution; complex systems theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: H4 Q56 Q57 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-03-08
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