The Human Equation: Culture, Biology and Sustainability

Along with the sluggishness, disinterest or deferment in adopting sustainable policies, much has been written about sustainability and how it can be applied across all sectors within our social, economic, political and cultural life. Capitalism is proposed to be at odds with sustainable principles and the cause of uneven and unsustainable development processes. This chapter argues that there is the possibility for a capitalistic system to place nature and people at its center, if there are fundamental cultural shifts in societal values. This chapter intends to establish the importance of understanding human drives, particularly one’s propensity toward selfless-selfish behavior, to better understand the motivation and behavior of capitalists. It is suggested that those drives can be harnessed, modified or controlled to benefit the wider population. The first section of the paper discusses the biology and nature of greed and the premise that greed has advanced society and is often the impetus for innovation. Greed is further discussed as a component of capitalism and its impact on society and the environment. In the second section, the usefulness of charting and measurement of one’s disposition for self-preservation on a spectrum of selflessness-selfishness is proposed: measurement affords us the possibility for prediction, and therefore, improved preparation and control of behavior. It is suggested that while designing solutions for a more sustainable future, one take into account the personality and behavioral characteristics of decision makers, therefore more focus on the capitalist rather than the structure of capitalism. In the third section, neuroscience is explored to better understand man’s unsustainable behaviors. In the fourth section transitions and shifts in cultural values and understanding of sustainability are discussed with particular focus on the proclivities of Millennials and Gen Zs. Finally, the impact of education, collaboration and technology as enablers of formalized change in decision-making is explored in the last section.