Virtue, Sustainability and Liberal Values

Abstract

Citizens have in the last few decades become increasingly aware of the interdependence of ecological and economic issues. Today, economic growth and technical progress are imaginable only within a framework of sustainable relations with the environment and ecosystems. One way to specify this view is to say, with the Brundtland Commission, that we need to find forms of development that satisfy present needs without reducing the ability of future generations to satisfy their needs. Another approach is found in the view that the content of any conception of sustainability must be articulated politically rather than scientifically.