Inaugural lecture (Non)sustainability of sustainability -a critical analysis of the concept of sustainable development

Abstract

Sustainable development has become a ubiquitous term in academic discussions and papers as well as in the public domain. The term is used so frequently that it has become difficult to discern its actual meaning, and it is undoubtedly a divergent and normatively charged concept. Most often, it is simply defined as a concept that involves meeting the needs of humanity without compromising the satisfaction of those needs for future generations. Although it is still predominantly associated with environmental problems, the concept is also present in other areas of social life. This presentation will provide a historical overview of the evolution of the concept of sustainable development and explain its main dimensions. Different understandings of sustainable development by relevant national and international authors will be presented, ranging from idealization of the concept to outright disenchantment with it. At one end of the spectrum, sustainable development is "the only coherent planetary concept for balanced development in the future" ( Lay, 2007 ) and at the other end, that sustainable development "has become a profitable political and commercial strategy to manage the degradation of the global environment" ( Van Loon, 2003 ) . The paper critically analyzes the ( failed ) concept of sustainable development, which is supported in principle by all relevant international institutions and elites of all kinds, but is unable to stop the destruction of the global ecosystem. In conclusion, the question arises whether sustainable development has really become a "larpuristic mantra" (Šimleša, 2010) or whether it is a concept that can, if not avoid, at least slow down and mitigate the negative impacts of humans on the world they live in.