production relative to inputs (e.g., land, labor, and capital). To the extent that the
allocation of resources at a given point in time considers intergenerational equity and
threshold extraction rates consistent with the prevention of resource depletion, and
enables repopulation for renewable resources, the trade-off decisions may or may not
be consistent with sustainable resource utilization.
Furthermore, to the extent that a society is taught or maintains the social norm of
stewardship and thus satiation of needs relative to that of wants, the efficient
allocation of resources may not embody the maximum production. Instead an
economy may not fully use observable resources given consideration of their
availability from a long-term perspective.
In Fig. 2.2, the PPF line labeled Z represents the maximum production possible in
an economy given resource availability at a given point in time; Z also corresponds
to a society for which insatiable wants have been embedded into the culture. This
society will be dependent on the identification of new resources and technology to
enable an increase in future production and related consumption. Increased resource
access and technological advancement are reflected in an outward shift of the PPF
over time. For both societies, using a GDP definition of progress, the PPF would
presumably be representative of the attainment of potential GDP. However, for the
society depicted as operating on A, for which Z was also accessible, GDP would be
lower as would be GDP growth rates over time. The focus on GDP omits the
qualitative value the society derives from the preservation of resources for future
periods and the related inter-temporal sustainability of consumption.
McCluney (2008) suggests that reduction in consumption is needed by developed
countries to reduce the environmental burden and social justice implications of the
present trajectory of consumption within those countries. He notes that there is a
moral dilemma at present, given that developed countries have been able to grow and
develop high standards of living by environmental exploitation but are now seeking
to eliminate the same channels that enabled their development within the developing
world. Addressing population pressures and finite growth prospects, he concludes
with questions that surface the significant role of consumption: “Will the industrial
world be willing to alter its own system to benefit the starving billions elsewhere?
How much should the industrialized countries be willing to sacrifice for the sake of
the underdeveloped world? Is it moral to conclude that we should not make such
sacrifices, or is the very question born of a fallacious understanding of what it takes
to live well (McCluney 2008)?”
2.3
Consumption and Sustainable Growth
In most western developed countries, consumption is a significant driver of GDP
growth. To the extent that GDP is the standard metric of economic progress and
economic progress is a focus due to the perception that progress equates with a
higher standard of living, consumption has also become a targeted metric. From this
perspective, nearly everything in an economy can be related to consumption, from
maintaining full employment, to maintaining stable inflation and low interest rates,
2 The Role of Culture and Moral Responsibility in Facilitating a Sustainable. . .
15
allocation of resources at a given point in time considers intergenerational equity and
threshold extraction rates consistent with the prevention of resource depletion, and
enables repopulation for renewable resources, the trade-off decisions may or may not
be consistent with sustainable resource utilization.
Furthermore, to the extent that a society is taught or maintains the social norm of
stewardship and thus satiation of needs relative to that of wants, the efficient
allocation of resources may not embody the maximum production. Instead an
economy may not fully use observable resources given consideration of their
availability from a long-term perspective.
In Fig. 2.2, the PPF line labeled Z represents the maximum production possible in
an economy given resource availability at a given point in time; Z also corresponds
to a society for which insatiable wants have been embedded into the culture. This
society will be dependent on the identification of new resources and technology to
enable an increase in future production and related consumption. Increased resource
access and technological advancement are reflected in an outward shift of the PPF
over time. For both societies, using a GDP definition of progress, the PPF would
presumably be representative of the attainment of potential GDP. However, for the
society depicted as operating on A, for which Z was also accessible, GDP would be
lower as would be GDP growth rates over time. The focus on GDP omits the
qualitative value the society derives from the preservation of resources for future
periods and the related inter-temporal sustainability of consumption.
McCluney (2008) suggests that reduction in consumption is needed by developed
countries to reduce the environmental burden and social justice implications of the
present trajectory of consumption within those countries. He notes that there is a
moral dilemma at present, given that developed countries have been able to grow and
develop high standards of living by environmental exploitation but are now seeking
to eliminate the same channels that enabled their development within the developing
world. Addressing population pressures and finite growth prospects, he concludes
with questions that surface the significant role of consumption: “Will the industrial
world be willing to alter its own system to benefit the starving billions elsewhere?
How much should the industrialized countries be willing to sacrifice for the sake of
the underdeveloped world? Is it moral to conclude that we should not make such
sacrifices, or is the very question born of a fallacious understanding of what it takes
to live well (McCluney 2008)?”
2.3
Consumption and Sustainable Growth
In most western developed countries, consumption is a significant driver of GDP
growth. To the extent that GDP is the standard metric of economic progress and
economic progress is a focus due to the perception that progress equates with a
higher standard of living, consumption has also become a targeted metric. From this
perspective, nearly everything in an economy can be related to consumption, from
maintaining full employment, to maintaining stable inflation and low interest rates,
2 The Role of Culture and Moral Responsibility in Facilitating a Sustainable. . .
15