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can we be sustainable without being utopian?

can we be sustainable without being utopian?. Tom Schrand Philadelphia University. sustainability thinking. utopian thinking. or. utopian thinking. Do we have to create a utopia to achieve sustainability ? If so , is sustainability possible?. sustainability thinking.

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can we be sustainable without being utopian?

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  1. can we be sustainable without being utopian? Tom Schrand Philadelphia University

  2. sustainability thinking utopian thinking or utopian thinking Do we have tocreate a utopia to achieve sustainability? If so, is sustainability possible? sustainability thinking

  3. “social dreaming” Lyman Tower Sargent “the desire for a better way of living” Ruth Levitas

  4. Vital,Useful Folly, Dangerous “…practical reforms depend on utopian dreaming.” -Russell Jacoby A “plan … whereby harmony, justice and plenty are attained by human engineering is an invitation to despotism.” -LeszekKolakowski

  5. Sustainability Economy Equity Environment justice plenty harmony

  6. Socialism Economy Equity

  7. Green socialism Economy Equity Environment

  8. Equity in Ecotopia • Women lead the political system • All businesses are worker-owned • No support for consumerism or conspicuous consumption • Public transit for all • Communal living arrangements • Universal reduction of working hours • Ecotopia = socialism + sustainability

  9. Charles Fourier Phalanx communes of 1620 people Saint-Simon Technocratic socialism Robert Owen Paternalistic industrial socialism

  10. “Utopian socialism” “scientific socialism”

  11. Mensheviks Let historical processes unfold naturally vs. Bolsheviks Transition to socialism can be accelerated

  12. Can we identify a historical dynamic leading to sustainability? • Who are the historical agents who can or do drive this dynamic? • “…ever since the abandonment of the assumption that the proletariat would be the agents of revolution, the problem of agency has been acute.” • -Ruth Levitas Who is the green proletariat?

  13. Utopia of abundance (McDonough and Braungart option) Utopia of sufficiency (Ecotopia option) Utopia of austerity (contemporary Cuba option)

  14. equity = redistribution of wealth? • When does it start? (inter-generational vs. intra-generational) • Is it socialist? • Can it be non-utopian? • Can it be non-violent?

  15. S. Fred Singer (2011) on convergence and contraction (C & C): “The idea is that every human is entitled to emit the same amount of CO2. This of course translates into every being on earth using the same amount of energy—and, by inference, having the same income. In other words, C & C is basically a policy for a giant global income redistribution.”

  16. Sustainability “seems to be based on optimism that it is possible to predict or direct the future and that it will be possible to persuade people to act not just rationally, but with altruism towards future generations.” Simon Dresner The Principles of Sustainability Utopian sustainability?

  17. ? • As sustainability advocates, are we utopian or scientific? • Are we Mensheviks or Bolsheviks? • What is the “historical-materialist” pathway?

  18. Marius de Geus, Ecological Utopias: • Utopian thinking should be viewed as a “navigational compass” rather than a “floor plan model” • Also required: • A map • A means of transportation from point A to point B

  19. Your thoughts? What is the role of equity in your thinking about sustainability? Is it important for sustainability thinking to be non-utopian?

  20. Population growth stabilization • GOAL = zero population growth • INDIRECT PATH = • Lower infant mortality • Better maternal health • Educational and economic opportunities for women • Sustainability • GOAL = human societies in balance with the environment • INDIRECT PATH = equity? • Higher standards of living • Reduced poverty • Increased economic equity • Reduced corporate power

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