Untitled Deck Flashcards
(53 cards)
What does the scientific route see sustainability as?
The scientific route sees sustainability as preservation.
How does the ethical route define sustainability?
The ethical route defines sustainability as justice and responsibility.
What are the issues of the scientific route?
- Complexity and lack of knowledge about system interactions.
- Difficulty creating ‘if-then’ models for sustainability outcomes.
- People must want and agree on sustainability measures, but political resistance can be common.
- Laws and measures require societal acceptance and voluntary compliance; complete monitoring and enforcement are impossible.
What are the advantages of the SDGs?
- Good overview over development in many sustainability-relevant fields.
- Monitoring of status development and target achievement is possible.
- Sets concrete political goals.
What is GNP?
GNP (Gross National Product) measures income earned by all residents of a country or the total value of goods and services produced by a country’s citizens in a year, regardless of the location of production.
What are the three perspectives of GNP?
- Production Perspective: GNP = Value of Production - Value of Intermediate Goods.
- Utilization Perspective: GNP = Private Consumption + Investments/Savings + Government Consumption + (Exports - Imports).
- Income Perspective: GNP = Wages + Profits + Interests + Depreciation.
Why is GNP not sufficient to explain well-being?
- GNP measures human well-being inaccurately; unpaid services are not considered, and negative events can increase GNP.
- Money and income are poor units to measure happiness; the Easterlin Paradox shows income does not equate to satisfaction.
- Increase in GNP is coupled with resource depletion and environmental degradation.
What is meant by ‘conviviality’ in regards to degrowth?
Conviviality refers to ‘living together’, i.e., the ability of individuals to interact creatively and autonomously with others and their environment to satisfy their own needs.
What is meant by ‘sufficiency’ in regards to degrowth?
Sufficiency means focusing on ‘having enough’ rather than ‘always wanting more.’
What challenges does degrowth face in achieving conviviality and sufficiency?
- Degrowth’s idealistic ‘wish list’ often lacks coherence and feasibility.
- Reliance on bottom-up change struggles to achieve large-scale systemic shifts.
- Conflict with liberal democracy limits societal consensus and institutional support.
- Lack of engagement with mainstream systems reduces influence and scalability.
What are the three conditions/features of judgment?
- Bottom up: Judgement starts from the specific case and reflects on applicable rules.
- Judgment uses heuristics: It seeks and finds solutions.
- Judgment needs feeling: Understanding, intellect, and reason are not sufficient; feelings can guide us.
What are the three approaches of judgment?
- Objectivity: Judging from an impartial observer’s perspective.
- Dialogue: Being open to diverse perspectives.
- Empathy: Understanding others fosters mutual respect.
What is the basic idea of the Brundtland definition of sustainability?
Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
What does the Brundtland definition address besides intergenerational justice?
It also addresses intragenerational justice in terms of north-south conflict and protection of nature and environment.
Is Carlowitz’s idea of sustainability transferable to more complex resources?
Carl von Carlowitz’s idea is limited to timber management and is not directly transferable to complex systems like forest ecosystems, which require a holistic approach.
What is John Rawls’ Difference Principle?
The Difference Principle states that social and economic inequalities are allowed only if they benefit the least advantaged members of society and are connected to positions and opportunities open to everyone under conditions of fairness.
What is the difference between weak and strong sustainability?
Weak sustainability allows for substituting natural capital with man-made capital, while strong sustainability requires maintaining the stock of natural capital separately, recognizing its irreplaceable value.
What does Hartwick’s rule state?
Hartwick’s rule states that to achieve constant stream consumption over time, reinvest the profit from selling non-renewable resources into building up the capital stock.
What are the limitations of Hartwick’s model?
- No depletion rate; the model can be extended.
- Constant population assumption; the model can be extended.
- Issues with substitutability.
What is the comparative standard for sustainability?
Non-declining consumption: The chances of future generations meeting their needs should be at least as high as those of the current generation.
What is the absolute standard for sustainability?
Minimum condition for sustainability: Everyone should have access at all times and in all places to the minimum means and conditions of subsistence.
What are some strong arguments for strong sustainability?
-Nature is essential for our lives (e.g., atmosphere, water…).
Natural “inputs” into our economy cannot reduced to marginality.
-Natural capital is multifunctional (in contrast to man-made capital).
E.g., an ocean serves as a habitat, water reservoir, CO2-sink, recreation area, transport “infrastructure”,…
What does Cobb Douglas production function show?
Cobb-Douglas production function has the property that both production factors (resource and capital) are essential, assuming no perfect substitution. This means the economy cannot simply “switch” entirely to capital and stop using resources. A minimum level of resource use is always necessary for production.
Name and explain shortly at least 2 differences between scientific knowledge and judgment.
-Know what vs know how; non personal vs personal
* Scientific Knowledge aims to explain phenomena through theories and models. It is non-personal and focuses on the “what” (facts).
* Judgment focuses on decision-making in diffuse and complex situations. It is inherently personal and involves “how” to act or decide when clear solutions are not available
-Solution vs. Decision; Provable vs no proof possible
* Scientific Knowledge focuses on finding solutions to well-defined problems using logical methods and coherent theories. It is precise and provable
* Judgment, however, involves making decisions in complex and uncertain situations where solutions are not always clear or demonstrable. It requires navigating gaps in arguments and applying practical reasoning to reach actionable conclusions.
