Appendix C
Environment and Social Contract
This appendix is different from the rest of the book, as it tries to highlight probably the most important problem that causes environmental degradation. First, let
us remember that water is a significant part of environment as is also obvious in
its definition “the air, water, and land in or on which people, animals, and plants
live” (Cambridge Dictionary 2019). On the other hand, there is no need to remind
the readers that we are living under unprecedented social and environmental problems. Drivers, such as population, climate, economy, governance and technology
are making sustainable water development as one of the major challenges of this
century. Since 2015, the yearly Global Risks Report of the World Economic Forum
presents “water crises” as the number one societal risk in terms of impact. Its 2019
edition (World Economic Forum 2019) puts “water crises” as the number two societal risk in terms of likelihood. Humanity has finally come to realize that fresh water
is limited and must be dealt with as a scarce resource economically, socially and
environmentally.
One way of looking into such environmental and social problems is to look into
one of the central organising principles of human societies, the social contract theory.
It “incorporates Enlightenment conceptions of the relation of the individual to the
state. According to the general social contract model, political authority is grounded
in an agreement (often understood as ideal, rather than real) among individuals, each
of whom aims in this agreement to advance his rational self-interest by establishing
a common political authority over all” (Bristow 2017).
The eighteenth century Enlightenment put forth the social contract theory, which
is indeed a positive political and moral principle but it has serious limitations for our
rapidly changing societies. The consequences of those shortfalls are readily visible
in poverty, disadvantaged people (including women), health, lack of consideration
for the future generation, etc. However, the most serious inadequacy of the policies
according to the social contract model is their incompleteness: “Another structural
problem of the social contract is related to the nationalistic presuppositions of the
doctrine. In other words, the social contract is confined to the borders of a nation-state,
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license
to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
N. Haie, Transparent Water Management Theory,
Water Resources Development and Management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6284-6
113
Environment and Social Contract
This appendix is different from the rest of the book, as it tries to highlight probably the most important problem that causes environmental degradation. First, let
us remember that water is a significant part of environment as is also obvious in
its definition “the air, water, and land in or on which people, animals, and plants
live” (Cambridge Dictionary 2019). On the other hand, there is no need to remind
the readers that we are living under unprecedented social and environmental problems. Drivers, such as population, climate, economy, governance and technology
are making sustainable water development as one of the major challenges of this
century. Since 2015, the yearly Global Risks Report of the World Economic Forum
presents “water crises” as the number one societal risk in terms of impact. Its 2019
edition (World Economic Forum 2019) puts “water crises” as the number two societal risk in terms of likelihood. Humanity has finally come to realize that fresh water
is limited and must be dealt with as a scarce resource economically, socially and
environmentally.
One way of looking into such environmental and social problems is to look into
one of the central organising principles of human societies, the social contract theory.
It “incorporates Enlightenment conceptions of the relation of the individual to the
state. According to the general social contract model, political authority is grounded
in an agreement (often understood as ideal, rather than real) among individuals, each
of whom aims in this agreement to advance his rational self-interest by establishing
a common political authority over all” (Bristow 2017).
The eighteenth century Enlightenment put forth the social contract theory, which
is indeed a positive political and moral principle but it has serious limitations for our
rapidly changing societies. The consequences of those shortfalls are readily visible
in poverty, disadvantaged people (including women), health, lack of consideration
for the future generation, etc. However, the most serious inadequacy of the policies
according to the social contract model is their incompleteness: “Another structural
problem of the social contract is related to the nationalistic presuppositions of the
doctrine. In other words, the social contract is confined to the borders of a nation-state,
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license
to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021
N. Haie, Transparent Water Management Theory,
Water Resources Development and Management,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6284-6
113