Constructing Sustainable Development [Paperback]

Neil E. Harrison (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2000

Through a critique of the economic, technological, political, and ethical theories that are the basis for current policy, this book shows that sustainable development proposals are at least incomplete or impractical and at worst dangerously misleading.

The concept of sustainable development presents a problem for theorists and policy makers because it cannot be objectively defined and subjective understandings vary widely. For the capitalist, sustainable development is a problem of production efficiency and technological innovation; for the environmentalist, a more appropriate ethic is a necessity; and for the developing country policy maker, a more equitable distribution of power over resources is imperative.

Harrison shows how sustainable development can be constructed from policy principles derived from ongoing adaptations to changes in values, beliefs, and scientific knowledge, and applied in both developed and developing nations and communities large and small.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Neil E. Harrison is Assistant Professor of Political Science at the University of Wyoming. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 175 pages
• Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791446689
• ISBN-13: 978-0791446683
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.8 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,010,663 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I welcome challenges, they force me to be fully engaged in the process of living.

My first big challenge was keeping my sense of humor and humanity while training and working as a Chartered Accountant in England and Spain and then as a CPA in the United States (for Price Waterhouse). Then I needed the challenge of managing businesses in Colorado. Next, I took on the challenge of a Ph.D. in International Studies at the University of Denver. Finally I taught in a University Department of Political Science without a degree in the subject.

Now my challenge is writing: forging some new insight into sustainable development or world politics from the blank white screen and a blinking cursor. I have published four books (one is through UNESCO available at http://www.eolss.net/) and several articles and book chapters on these subjects. More are on the way.

I also blog for The Sustainable Development Institute (at http://blog.complexplanet.org) using ideas adapted from complexity science to shed some light on the world we create among us.