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Question:Based on the article by Michael Redclift (2005) Sustainable Development (!"#$

2005)% &n 'ymoron omes of &*e+, -o. has the resur*ence of mar/et$centered ideolo*ies

(ie, neoliberalism) since the !"0s affected the discourses of sustainability insti*ated by the

Brundtland report1

Effects Of Neoliberalism On Discourses Of Sustainability

n his article Sustainable Development (!"#$2005)% &n 'ymoron omes of &*e+, Michael

Redclift ar*ues that one of the most si*nificant effects of the resur*ence of neo$liberal economic

a*endas (since the !"0s) on the discourses of sustainability insti*ated by the Brundtland

report is the move from 3needs based approach to development4 to that of 3ri*hts both human

and non$human4 as the principal line of en6uiry 7hile the earlier discourses on sustainability

and sustainable development focused mainly on the needs $ particularly the needs of human

bein*s, the rise of mar/et$centered ideolo*ies brou*ht to the mainstream 6uestions of ri*hts,

e6uity, and 8ustice -o.ever, it is also evident that driven by mar/et forces, the concept of

sustainable development often too/ on contradictory meanin*s .ith vastly different implications

'ne of the eample cited in the article is the 6uestion of production, on one side .e have many

.ho favour the sustainable development of *oods and services that the mar/et provides, .hileon the other hand .e also have proponents .ho believe that our current rate of production and

consumption is inherently unsustainable, and therefore call for 3do.n$si9in*4

&nother important effect of neoliberalism on the discourses of sustainability is the move to

measure sustainability :conomic concerns and sustainability of production directly resulted in

the increasin* detachment of 3sustainability4 from the environment &s mentioned above, the

ne. mar/et trends obscured the real *oal and meanin* of environmental sustainability and

e6uated it .ith .ider social 6uestions of po.er, of distribution, of e6uity, of *overnance, and of

social 8ustice ;hus, there .as a si*nificant shift in the mainstream political discussion on

sustainability to entirely different 6uarters Redclift further eplains that 3policy and *overnance

too/ precedence in the later or post$Brundtland discourses, .ith an attempt bein* made to

translate environmental choices into mar/et preferences4 ;he same can be clearly seen in thecorporate response to sustainable development follo.in* the first :arth Summit in Rio 8e

8/12/2019 Essay by Rohit Daniel

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By Rohit Daniel