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It has often been observed that public concern for the environment rises and falls in phase with the state of the economy. This observation may lead one to conjecture that if economic growth could be directed to improve overall quality of life concurrent with a reduction in the gap between rich and poor, then environmental problems would be a thing of the past. The argument might go that such economic growth could not only produce the necessary financial capital to tackle problems of environmental degradation, but the public would feel sufficiently comfortable to change their lifestyles in direct support of sustainable development. Assuming capitalism remains the dominant economic system, and there is every indication that support for free market economics is expanding rather than contracting, then, in the long term, the picture described above is probably the best bet for survival. The real challenge will be in how we (i.e. the human race) achieve a more equal distribution of wealth. So, could world-wide economic growth deliver global sustainable development? Certainly it could pull people out of the depths of extreme poverty and social degradation. Additionally it could provide the investment capital needed to deliver cleaner, more eco-efficient technologies. But does economic growth de facto deliver a better quality of life? Not according to a lot of statistical evidence. In his thought provoking book When Corporations Rule the World David Korten reflects that in 1954 the then Chancellor of the Exchequer R. A. Butler said that a 3% annual economic growth rate would double the national income per capita by 1980 and make every British man and woman twice as rich as his father had been at the same age. In 1989 the Irish economist Richard Douthwaite analysed the benefits of British economic growth and found that almost every social indicator, such as chronic disease, crime, unemployment and divorce rates, had deteriorated. More recently the 1997 edition of UK Social Trends also highlighted the widening gap between rich and poor, the high levels of homelessness amongst single parents and the instability of many relationships. A similar story is told in USA which, although it has one of the highest average income levels in the world, fares worse than any other industrialised nation in terms of homelessness, infant mortality, drug abuse, murder, percent of population on welfare and percent in prison. Some have compared (often quite subjectively) GDP per head against various quality of life measures . In its October 1997 review the UK National Institute of Economic and Social Research listed the twenty four richest nations in terms of GDP per head, and then derived a quality of life ranking based on a combination of the level of GDP generated per hour of work and various social factors such as life expectancy, levels of education and degrees of unemployment, plus political and civil rights. Their conclusions quite clearly show a disconnection between quality of life and economic wealth. |
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Table 1. UK National Institute of Economic and Social Research quality
of life rankings for the richest 24 nations Undoubtedly there’s plenty of room for progress in improving people’s quality of life, where ever they live in the world, and this is the essence of the social dimension of sustainable development - provided, that is, it doesn’t conflict with the equally important ecological objectives. Sara Parkin, director of Forum for the Future describes it succinctly as follows: “For me a sustainable society means ecological security; trust in justice and government; appropriate technologies which add value to what people do rather than replace them; satisfying work; a safe, supportive community and a shared sense of purpose and values.” Next |
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