‘Evolvability’ – the key for future generations?

James Dator (Professor and Director of the Hawai'i Research Center for Futures Studies, Department of Political Science, of the University of Hawai'i at Mā; and former President, World Futures Studies Federation) argues that "sustainable development" is diverting us from “evolvability”.  It is like Green Growth which in practice is simply green GROWTH. It seems to Dator that sustainable development in practice means at least sustaining our current mode of development and increasing it as much as possible. 

Dator asks us to note that the word "sustainable" modifies "development". He claims what we need instead are at least "sustainable bio-environments", and, he believes, ones that can evolve and not devolve or simply be "sustained", which evolutionary processes do not permit anyway.

Dator is more interested in what people do under various banners than the banner itself, and in his view those acting under the banner of sustainable development engage in more destructive acts than not. 

It is now argued that there is no road to sustainability, sustainability is the road.  The choice between the path of failure and the path of possibility comes down to how well we can balance a true shareholder and stakeholder and sustainability portfolio.   Indeed, they are one of the same thing, and to do this requires an understanding of what is needed for Value Creation.  

Earlier I put on line thoughts about a new paper titled ‘The Rise and Fall of Growth: The inappropriateness of continuous unchecked growth’.  That paper has now been published and is attached here.

Read this paper in PDF