Journal 8 and 9—Daly and Key Sustainability Concepts
Part I: Growth vs. Development
Read:
“Relying on growth . . . might be fine if the global economy existed in a void, but it does not. Rather the economy is a subsystem of the finite biosphere that supports it. When the economy’s expansion encroaches too much on its surrounding ecosystem, we will begin to sacrifice natural capital (such as fish, minerals and fossil fuels) that is worth more than the man-made capital (such as roads, factories and appliances) added by the growth. We will then have what I call uneconomic growth, producing “bads” faster than goods—making us poorer, not richer [see box on page 103]. Once we pass the optimal scale, growth becomes stupid in the short run and impossible to maintain in the long run. Evidence suggests that the U.S. may already have entered the uneconomic growth phase” (100).
“Even trying to define sustainability in terms of constant GDP is problematic because GDP conflates qualitative improvement (development) with quantitative increase (growth). The sustainable economy must at some point stop growing, but it need not stop developing” (103).
Write:
It is clear that Daly supports more development in place of more growth. But what exactly is the difference between growth and development? How exactly is sustainability more about development than growth, and why is development necessary in sustainable systems? What is the problem with growth in the long run? Can you think of 2 or 3 real-life examples of each development and growth that help illustrate the difference between growth and development? These can be taken from any dimension of life.
Discuss how your sustainability trend favors or doesn’t favor development over growth. Does the never-ending need for economic growth impact how effective your trend will be in moving in the direction of more development and less growth? Be as specific as possible.
Part II: Sustainability Concepts
Purpose: Locating key sustainability concepts in the reading and thinking critically about them so that you can apply those concepts in your essay #2 to analyze how your sustainability trend meets key sustainability criteria.
Read First:
The readings that we will look at for this section will help us to analyze more closely some of the sustainability concepts in the classroom readings and links provided in the Essay #2 assignment. Leopold, for example, as we have discussed, had to create new concepts (the ethical sequence, ecological conscience, the community concept, the A/B cleavage) or new ways of understanding old concepts (ethic, land, ecological view of history) to make his argument. We’ve discussed how Aldo Leopold uses stipulative definitions (writer-created concepts that the writer must clearly define) to a powerful effect. One way of looking at Leopold’s “The Land Ethic” is as attempt to give an extended definition of a new concept.
At other times authors will use already existing concepts, and they will clearly define these concepts in a way that adds depth to their own argument. One example is Daly’s discussion of economic vs. uneconomic growth. Another example is Whelan and Fink’s discussion of stakeholder engagement. If you choose to analyze stakeholder engagement more closely, just make sure that you clearly explicate how stakeholder engagement relates to sustainability. You could also take a look at the different but interrelated meanings of sustainability to get a better understanding of perhaps the most important concept for this essay. See the links below.
Consider the word sustainability, for example. The links that I have provided show just a few of the popular definitions of sustainability, but most definitions that you find will have a few things in common as we’ve discussed in class. Be assured that these definitions come out of 1000s of hours of engaged thinking and debate. The result is a powerful vehicle for thought, that when employed in an essay can be used to deeper the analysis of everything you write. However, to do so, you must first break it down into its components, see what makes it tick, retrace the steps that were necessary to define the concept in the first place. Once you recognize the power of these concepts and get deep sense of how they operate in the readings, what they mean, and how they relate to other important concepts, you will be on solid ground to write the best kind of synthesis essay.
What is so amazing about these kinds of concepts is that we truly can unlock the secrets of their power, and once we do so, we become a kind of engineer. Once we unlock the secrets of sustainability, for example, we can use all its moving parts to discover new and fascinating things about how we relate to the natural world, and we can even eventually make modifications of the concept itself by changing this component or that component. These will usually be very small changes or just a drawing to the surface a unique perspective on what is already there. But, every so often, someone will think of a way to totally shift the power of a concept, to use it for a different purpose and to completely rewire it. Sure, some of the old components might still be there, but the concept has become a new beast altogether. Examples of this are how Leopold redefines ethic at the beginning of “The Land Ethic” or how Silko discusses “Land.” The word has much in common with the traditional/conventional use of these terms but they have become much more powerful and capable than their older siblings.
The Journal:
For this journalyou must locate 3 important concepts (the first concept for everyone will be difference between growth and development in Daly’s “Economics in a Full World”). You should choose each of the other 4 from the classroom readings and from the links provided. Spend as much time needed to understand and articulate the definitions of each of your key concepts. Use the internet to see more common uses of the concept to help you get other perspectives. You must then put the concepts in your own words. The one from the reading, not the internet. Next, Write a paragraph or two explaining the significance of each concept. You could talk about where it gets its power from or how it is different from or similar to more common and conventional concepts. Finally, write a couple paragraphs about how each of your concepts intersect and relate to one another and how they help you think about your sustainability trend.
Some Concepts from the Readings:
economic v. uneconomic growth
sustainability
the land
the landscape
growth v development
the community concept
ecological conscience
conservation
A/B cleavage
ecological view of history
imagination
the circular economy
Aldo Leopold, “The Land Ethic”
Leslie Marmon Silko “Landscape, History and the Pueblo Imagination.”
Herman E. Daly’s “Economics in a Full World”
Tenise Whelan and Carly Fink, “The Comprehensive Case for Sustainability”
What is sustainability and sustainable development? Three Definitions:
- From the EPA–http://www.epa.gov/sustainability/basicinfo.htm
- From Canada’s IISD–http://www.iisd.org/sd/
- From Harvard Business Review blog–http://blogs.hbr.org/leadinggreen/2008/06/we-need-a-definition-of-sustai.html
You may also want to think of these issues in terms of the circular economy:
http://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/circular-economy
http://ed.ted.com/on/2Yy019iv#review
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