Progress and Development

HUMAN
FLOURISHING
aim of sustainable development
is to balance
our economic, environmental and
social needs, allowing prosperity
for now and future generations.
A Global Study at the University of Leeds (published
in Nature Sustainability)

 The results suggested that some of the United

Nations’ “sustainable development goals” –
designed in 2015 to “end poverty, protect the planet
and ensure prosperity for all” – could undermine
each other.
A Global Study at the University of Leeds (published
in Nature Sustainability)

 "Radical changes are needed if all people are to live

well within the limits of the planet,” said Dr Julia
Steinberger, another of the study’s co-
authors. “These include moving beyond the pursuit
of economic growth in wealthy nations, shifting
rapidly from fossil fuels to renewable energy, and
significantly reducing inequality.”
Occupy Wall Street protesters march down Broadway in 2012.

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/
mar/30/it-will-take-100-years-for-the-worlds-poorest-people-to-earn-125-a-day
Inequality

Protesters in the Philippines were dispersed by police as they

demonstrated over inequality in 2011
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2016/apr/08/global-
inequality-may-be-much-worse-than-we-think#img-1
A tale of two cities – skyscrapers from the financial district in Manila
overlook a shanty town.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/apr/15/income-inequality-
debate-wealth-poverty-sustainable-development
 Recent research found 70% of people in middle- and high-
income countries believe overconsumption is putting our
planet and society at risk.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/sep/23/developing-poor-countries-de-develop-
rich-countries-sdgs
Standardized unit (resource use, waste, and
emission)

 3.4 Earths for the average person in the average-

high–income country (Global Footprint Network)
 At the existing levels of global consumption, we
are overshooting our planet’s biocapacity by about
50%/year
 Our planet only has sufficient resources for each of
us to consume 1.8 “global hectares” annually
Alleviating World Suffering: The Challenge
of Negative Quality of Life by J.Hickel edited
by Ronald E. Anderson
Saner measure for Human Progress
 Does not rely on endlessly increasing extraction
and consumption (Stiglitz and Sen 2011;
Fioramonti 2013)
 The imperative for GDP growth places human and
natural system under enormous pressure.
Saner measure for Human Progress
 GPI as a measure of progress starts with GDP and
then adds positive factors such as household and
volunteer work, subtracts negatives such as
pollution, resource depletion, and crime, and
adjusts for inequality.
Saner measure for Human Progress
 Getting rid of the GDP growth imperative would
release the pressure that caused so much human
suffering
 Focusing on GPI (or any alternative measure)
would incentivize policies that facilitate good
outcomes while diminishing bad ones.
AlleviatingWorld Suffering
 Requires targeting root structural causes:
1. international debt system,
2. structural adjustments
3. lack of democracy in global governance
4. unfair trade regimes
5. poor wages
6. tax evasion
Alleviating World Suffering
 Requires targeting root structural causes:
7. land grabs
8. climate change
 Making global economy fairer for the world’s
majority
 Actively shrink our ecological footprint to fit
within the planet’s boundaries
Alleviating World Suffering
 Reducing the material over-consumption of the
richer countries while improving human
development in the poorer ones.
COUNTRIES WITH BIOCAPACITY DEFICIT
PERCENTAGE THAT ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT EXCEEDS BIOCAPACITY

 Philippines 91%
http://data.footprintnetwork.org/#/
http://data.footprintnetwork.org/#/countryTrends?type=BCtot,EFCtot&cn=171