Runway to Development

“What you do today can improve all your tomorrows.” –Ralph Marston

Today we see trees being cut down, and buildings emerging in their stead; this is termed as development. But with this new era of technology, the disastrous toll industrialization is taking on the environment cannot be neglected. Thus arose the concept of sustainable development (SD), with the stratosphere as the core concern. However, the very implication of the word ‘sustainable’ contradicts the notion of development, resulting in a world acclaimed oxymoron.

While sustainability refers to the ability to be maintained at a certain level, advancement refers to progress- to a change. This combination is an artistic and utopian vision, but perfection is never tangible. Excellence creates a passion for faultlessness, but this quench for supremacy can never be fulfilled. Therefore, present visionaries strive for utilizing our resources to their maximum potential without affecting the environment, but the earth’s reservoir has to be allowed to leak water for it to be used.

Furthermore, we cannot always predict the consequences of our actions until it’s too late; global warming wouldn’t have been a concern at present otherwise. Ergo, what is considered ‘sustainable development’ today may end up being our hamartia tomorrow. 

When asked about his thoughts on SD, Wolfgang Sachs replied, ‘Development with a capital D has for 40 years meant economic development. But in as much as development means giving a boost to GNP, development is intrinsically incompatible with sustainability.’ In countries with low economic growth, an image of SD is used to put wool over other people’s eyes, while in reality, factors such as poverty and overpopulation cause a sunken GDP growth rate rather than an overpowering environmental concern.

On the other hand, some may argue that the words are two sides of the same coin, for in an ideal world, the two should go hand in hand. Here, a holistic approach to development has been appraised as opposed to the economic definition, which is purely concerned with the Gross Domestic Product. Poets and artists laud the environment as the cradle of human civilization- it may even be so- but advancement needs to be measured, and the socially accepted way to do so is in monetary terms.

If we aim to give our successors a better world, it cannot be without any loss. The duality of yin and yang, which forms the yin yang symbol, strikes a balance in this realm. Inspecting history through a looking glass will prove that the postulation of equilibrium is an established law of nature.

In recent times, the question has changed from ‘Is development possible without tarnishing the environment?’ to ‘How to achieve sustainable development?’ If plenipotentiaries sought to answer the former question first, they’d realize that you cannot accelerate and apply the breaks at the same time; development cannot occur with the mindset of sustainability.  That being said, the clutch is an independent wedge; hence controlled development is the runway to success.