Promoting Sustainability by a Paradigm Shift Towards Commons

* Book chapter: Promoting Sustainability by a Paradigm Shift Towards Commons. By Jef Peeters. Chapter 11 in:

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Summary

"To address the subject of this resource workbook we require a proper conceptualization of the terms which are used. The public debate shows that ‘sustainability’ is not just an unequivocal concept. Its meaning is determined by differently used paradigms, which further can be connected to different social positions and interests. Therefore, it is indeed a ‘political’ term.1,2,3 Consequently, ‘sustainability’ is assigned many meanings strongly determined by all dimensions of their context. Today’s context is one of crisis and change. How, then, should sustainability be understood? How can we understand the relationship between community and environmental sustainability? And how can we relate them to the current social context? I will present some ideas for a general orientation on these issues from a social work perspective."