Environmental Values Environmental Values
Environmental Values 2(1993): 3-20. doi:10.3197/096327193776679981
'Sustainable development' is analysed as a product of the Modernist tradition, in which social criticism and understanding are legitimized against a background of evolutionary theory, scientific specialization, and rapid economic growth. Within this tradition, sustainable development emphasizes the need to live within ecological limits, but allows the retention of an essentially optimistic idea of progress. However, the inherent contradictions in the concept of sustainable development may lead to rejection of the Modernist view in favour of a new vision of the world in which the authority of science and technology is questioned and more emphasis is placed on cultural diversity.
KEYWORDS: Development, environment, modernism, needs, post-modernism, sustainability, values
CITATIONS in other Environmental Values articles:
The Precautionary Principle in Contemporary Environmental Politics. Timothy O'Riordan and Andrew Jordan
Ruralism or Environmentalism? Avner De-Shalit
The Isle of Harris Superquarry: Concepts of the Environment and Sustainability. Harry Barton
Environment as Discourse: Searching for Sustainable Development in Costa Rica. Anja Nygren
Territorial Equity and Sustainable Development. Bertrand Zuindeau
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