Sustainable Development and Democracy
* Article: Le développement durable est-il l'avenir de la démocratie ? Fabrice Flipo. Revue du MAUSS 2005/2 (no 26), pages 294 à 313
URL = https://www.cairn.info/revue-du-mauss-2005-2-page-294.htm
Summary
From the reading notes of Michel Bauwens, 2006:
This article starts with a positive assessment of the concept of sustainable development, which has permitted many innovative processes such as 'citizen expertise'. But how is this related to the future of democracy ?
The author notes that modern democracy differs from its ancient (Classical, Greek) version, by its emphasis on individual interests, instead of on the 'order of the community', which is now rejected.
Development is above all an economic concept, which states that the productive exploitation of nature is necessary for human emancipation.
It is anti-nomic to 'respect for nature' which is seen as a recipe for stasis. When it became clear that further growth was no longer necessarily making life better, three types of criticism arose:
- 1) Ivan Illich started a critique of technical and scientific reductionism, and their stress on 'social atomism'.
- 2) Ecologists stressed the finitude of resources, and therefore the unsustainability of the model.
- 3) The third type of critique, from Serge Latouche et al., stressed the cultural relativity of the concept: it was historically situated and therefore, not universal.
Science has not been neutral in this process, but has been in the service of increased power, and democracy has been subordinated to scientific and technical progress. Science has therefore become a contested arena. The priority has become, to put the 'sciences inside democracy'.
The author finds Latouche's critique to be insufficient, as well as Andrew Feenberg (whom he otherwise appreciates).
Of key importance is Mary Douglas definition of nature, "as that part of the real which escapes from personal and collective arbitrariness". No society can survive without such a reference (which includes that part of the social which is 'naturalized'). But this doesn't mean that such matters are no conflictual and that strategic use can be made of them. It is nature which limits human power, and it is therefore dangerous to abrogate it (as Latour attempts to do!).
Since it is conflictual, having alternative cosmologies to 'development is natural' is indispensable. This is why ecology, the taking into account of ecosystems, is vital.
French-language abstract
From the intro:
"Le développement durable a jusqu’ici permis un véritable renouveau démocratique : gouvernance, démocratie participative, démocratie locale, reconnaissance des droits autochtones, expertise citoyenne, etc. On ne compte plus les innovations procédurales permises par ce concept depuis son arrivée sur la scène internationale dans les années quatre-vingt.
Cela signifie-t-il pour autant que le développement durable soit l’avenir de la démocratie ? C’est possible, mais rien n’est moins sûr. Comme nous allons le voir dans cet article, le développement durable porte en lui-même des obstacles à l’extension de la démocratie.
Toutefois avant d’en venir à l’avenir de la démocratie, nous devons commencer par définir au moins approximativement ce qu’on entend par « démocratie »."