Left unexamined is its' shadow side. For it is this pattern
of economic globalization that is widening the gap between rich
and poor, and skewing the economy in terms of race and income,
to the deliberate disadvantage of people of color, working and
poor people in the San Francisco Bay Area, and other US metropolitan
regions. Job losses through corporate downsizing, exporting job
overseas and military base closures have had a heavy impact on
the region, as many displaced workers have not found comparable
employment and pay in other sectors of the local economy. Growth
is causing widespread environmental destruction, waste of natural
resources and social instability through unsustainable urban sprawl
development patterns. This reality is not revealed by conventional
economic indicators, such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP),
which do not disaggregate social, economic and environmental impacts,
or differentiate between productive and destructive activities,
or between sustainable and unsustainable ones. Furthermore, the
increasing concentration of economic power and decision-making
in supranational institutions which have no public oversight or
accountability undermines the foundations of democratic values
and institutions.
Sustainable Development vs. Sustainable Growth
How can we attain economic prosperity, ecological sustainability
and social justice in a globalized era? First, it is important
to distinguish between "sustainable development" and sustainable
growth. Growth fundamentally contradicts the goal of ecological
sustainability, because there are ecological limits to the depletion
of natural resources and the amount of waste that the Earth's
sinks can absorb. By contrast, ecologically sustainable development
is grounded in a steady-state economy - one that does not exceed
the regenerative and assimilative capacities of natural ecosystems,
according to economist Herman Daly. In short, it is a system of
energy and resource flows that does not take out more than can
be regenerated or absorbed. Current resource consumption and waste
generation levels in the post-industrial capitalist economies
of the North far exceed these capacities. Add to this the aspirations
of Southern countries to achieve the same standard of living and
consumption levels as the North, and we have the recipe for widespread
ecological collapse and social chaos. But, growth proponents typically
understate or ignore these concerns, since their primary focus
is on short-term returns, i.e. the next quarter's earnings. Sustainability,
in any meaningful sense of the word, is about long-term impacts,
consequences on future generations and life-cycle costs. Neoliberal
global economic principles do not account for these realities.
Sustainable development is often defined as the ability to meet
current needs without compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their needs. This definition was popularized by the World
Commission on Environment and Development - also known as the
Brundtland Commission - in its 1987 report to the United Nations
General Assembly. It provided the underpinning to much of the
1992 UN Conference on Environment and Development, commonly referred
to as the Earth Summit. But, this is an incomplete and inadequate
definition, as Sharachchandra Lele points out. It is based upon
several unexamined assumptions, and is often co-opted and defined
synonymously with "sustainable or managed growth" by the private
sector and public policy-makers alike. It ignores the sociopolitical
roots of poverty and economic injustice, while assuming that "we"
are all middle class consumers wanting to do the ecologically
correct thing. It does not answer the question of what is to be
sustained, for whom and for how long. It does not clarify the
complex ecological, as well as social conditions that are elemental
to sustaining social, economic and environmental well-being. Nor
does it address production and consumption patterns of Northern
post-industrial capitalist economies and the needs of Southern
countries whose resources and labor have been used to create Northern
wealth, but the majority of whose people have received few to
none of its benefits. A strategy of deploying more "green technology"
and eco-management practices is not sufficient to address issues
of redistributive justice, participatory decision-making and cultural
self-determination. These issues are central to the social, economic,
political, cultural and environmental challenges facing diverse
societies around the globe.
Sustainable Community Development Alternatives
Sustainable community economic development integrates economics,
ecology and justice. It embraces multicultural and biological
diversity, democratic process and control over public and natural
resources, and participatory decision-making. It considers how
current decisions will impact people and ecosystems seven generations
from now. It is a development model that (while recognizing that
trade with other places is possible and sometimes desirable) emphasizes
local community and the bioregion as a more appropriate scale
for achieving greater community well-being and quality of life.
Alternative development strategies that foster more diversified
local economies can create greater prosperity for more people
(especially people of color, working and poor people) without
being dependent on a highly unstable and speculative corporate
global economy. They also work to reclaim the value of biological
and human diversity in balance with nature, which supports all
life. Examples include community-supported urban agriculture,
community currencies, local exchange trading systems, recycled
product manufacturing, community development banks, localized
alternative renewable energy production and efficiency programs,
public works programs to retrofit and "green" the urban infrastructure
- housing, buildings, water, energy and transport systems, to
name a few.
Reorienting our awareness, and grounding public policy in a
bioregional framework, can help us to better plan and account
for the social, economic and environmental consequences of our
actions. A bioregion, also called a "life place" or "life region,"
is described as an interconnected geographic area, often defined
by a watershed. It shares similar patterns of plant and animal
life, climate and other patterns, including unique cultures that
develop out of living in a place in harmony with its natural ecosystems.
This is an emerging concept that has significant implications
for ecological economics and sustainable economic development.
It suggests a different magnitude of scale with which to think
about and engage primary social, economic and environmental relationships.
Getting There
How do we get there? There is no shortage of good ideas and working
examples, but for the most part they have not reached the consciousness
of the public, policy makers or the media. There is no one way
to achieve social justice and ecological sustainability, but there
are some common principles and elements that can be derived from
a survey of diverse initiatives from around the world.
An excellent examination and compilation of some of this work
can be found in A World that Works: Building Blocks for a Just
and Sustainable Society. a publication of "The Other Economic
Summit (TOES)" . It covers a wide range of perspectives, working
examples and strategies about how to link justice and sustainability,
how to counter transnational corporate hegemony over the economic
globalization process and how to realize just and sustainable
communities. No one example, perspective or strategy is a panacea,
but there is incredible richness in the critiques and alternative
possibilities that are presented. International contributors offer
critiques of the G-7's globalization strategy, help to define
what is real wealth, and share perspectives on what works for
re-embedding the economy, linking sustainability with justice,
building sustainable communities and livelihoods, democratizing
science and technology, and building international security and
peace.
One example from the San Francisco Bay Area is the San Francisco
League of Urban Gardeners (SLUG). SLUG's central mission is to
build community through gardening and greening. Working in San
Francisco's underserved neighborhoods and with youth and adults
of color, SLUG provides resources to improve quality of life through
job training, education and personal support programs. Its Urban
Herbals enterprise program produces herbs, vinegars, jams and
salsas made from organic produce grown in urban gardens. These
products are then marketed to and sold in local restaurants, natural
foods stores, farmers' markets and other retail outlets. The program
trains and employs local people in every phase of its operation,
providing them with leadership development skills and community-based
entrepreneurial skills, while providing them with the means to
earn a sustainable livelihood.
The global Fair Trade, or alternative trade, movement works
to empower low-income, disadvantaged or otherwise marginalized
farmers, artisans and small producers around the globe by enabling
the exchange goods (farm products, textiles, handicrafts etc.)
based on principles of ecological sustainability, social and economic
justice. This growing network of producers and buyers fosters
inter-local and global economic relationships that help build
and support local sustainable communities.
These are two examples of local/bioregional and global/interlocal
approaches to socially just and ecologically sustainable community
development. These and other examples can be replicated and expanded
in communities around the world.
Future Directions
What is urgently needed is more dissemination of these (and other)
ideas and mutual learning. Wider associations and collaborations
among people's organizations and networks, which can support enhanced
inter-local (local and global) organizing strategies, are also
needed. These organizing strategies must be grounded in holistic
vision and an integrated social, economic, environmental, cultural,
political and spiritual framework for creating sustainable communities.
Such communities must be rooted in their unique local/regional
social, cultural and environmental contexts, realizing that tendencies
toward majority tyranny must be tempered if social justice is
to be realized. Governance structures and sovereignty issues must
be engaged around systemic issues of participatory democratic
process, ownership and control of public and natural resources,
and the accountability of institutions (public and private) for
the public good. These, and a variety of other steps, are necessary
in order to foster a higher degree of public exposure, critical
discourse and civic engagement around economic and development
choices that truly foster multicultural community, ecological
sustainability and justice.
-- Henry Holmes is the Director of Sustainable Alternatives
to the Global Economy (SAGE), based in San Francisco.
About: SAGE exposes the locally disruptive social, economic
and environmental consequences of economic globalization on urban
communities in the US, and advocates for alternatives that promote
multicultural community, ecological sustainability and justice.
Mr. Holmes received his Juris Doctor from the University of California
School of Law, Davis. He is the past Associate Director and Transportation
Project Director of the Urban Habitat Program, a San Francisco
Bay Area social justice and environmental organization. An activist,
writer and lecturer, he has written extensively about social justice,
ecological sustainability, sustainable communities and economic
globalization. His work has been published by New Society Publishers,
the National Academy of Sciences, Environmental Health Perspectives,
the San Francisco Urban Institute, the Urban Ecologist, Earth
Island Journal, and Race, Poverty and the Environment.
For more information contact:
Henry Holmes
Director, Sustainable Alternatives to the Global Economy (SAGE)
415.788.3666 ext. 229
hholmes@igc.org
