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Squaring the Circle: In Quest for Sustainability

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  • Gennady Shkliarevsky

Abstract

Development has been the main strategy in addressing the problem of sustainability since at least the mid‐1980s. The results of this strategy have been mixed, if not disappointing. In their objections to this approach, critics frequently invoke constraints imposed by physical reality of which the most important one is entropy production. They question the belief that technological innovations are capable of solving the problem of sustainability. Is development the right response to this problem and is the current course capable of attaining sustainability? The article examines closely and critiques the principal theoretical objection to sustainable development that emphasizes physical constraints, and more specifically entropy production. It also offers a critique of the current approach to sustainable development. The article advocates a systems approach as a way to anchor a broad consensus in the ongoing sustainability debates. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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  • Gennady Shkliarevsky, 2015. "Squaring the Circle: In Quest for Sustainability," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(6), pages 629-645, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:srbeha:v:32:y:2015:i:6:p:629-645
    DOI: 10.1002/sres.2271
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    5. Gennady Shkliarevsky, 2013. "Science and its Discontents: Is There an End to Knowing?," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 30(1), pages 43-55, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. Marita Turpin, 2017. "Autopoiesis and Structuration Theory: A Framework to Investigate the Contribution of a Development Project to a Rural Community," Systems Research and Behavioral Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 34(6), pages 671-685, November.

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