Methodological Overview - Economics and Ecology: United for a Sustainable World - page 17

to periodically crack open an old belief system if a new thought-form is to
enter and grow, moving both the individual and the profession forward in a
renewed sense of authenticity in keeping with the cultural times.
Moving forward may be difficult for those whose belief system and per-
sonal identity are totally invested in the old paradigm, wherein their percep-
tion is vested in the cobwebs of the past, which preclude seeing any reason
for change. For those who subscribe to a new paradigm, moving forward
is easier, because there is something exciting and novel toward which to
move—an opening vista that hints at what the profession must become, a
vista more in tune with the knowledge and understanding of the day. Yet
those who harbor the new ideas are not better as human beings just because
their views differ from those who cling to the old patterns of thought.
The British historian Arnold Toynbee asked the critical question: “Why
did 26 great civilizations fall?” 8 The answer, he concluded, was that the peo-
ple would not, or believed they could not, change their way of thinking to
meet the changing conditions of their world.
Thus, a profession can move forward only to the extent that individuals
within the profession accept new philosophies and practices as demanded
by a rapidly changing culture. No profession can remain the same. Those
who feel they cannot accept new ideas must—and will—fall by the way-
side. The constant evolution of culture decrees that every new paradigm
will eventually be replaced by one more correct in terms of contemporary
knowledge. And we must bear in mind that now is always a time of change,
because change is a universal constant. 9
This base prepares us to address the task of developing and understand-
ing the concept of social-environmental sustainability. First, however, it is
necessary to develop a more extensive critique of the theory and practice of
economics as a discipline. This is the task of Section II of this topic.

Endnotes

1. E. F. Schumacher. Thinkexist.com. http://thinkexist.com/quotation/call_a_
thing_immoral_or_ugly-soul-destroying_or_a/296551.html (accessed on

September 10, 2010).

2. E. F. Schumacher. Small Is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered . Blond and
Briggs, London, UK. 1973.

3. Chris Maser. Ecological Diversity in Sustainable Development: The Vital and
Forgotten Dimension . Lewis, Boca Raton, FL. 1999. 402 pp.

4. Donald Ludwig, Ray Hilborn, and Carl Walters. Uncertainty, resource exploita-
tion, and conservation: lesson from history. Science 260 (1993):17, 36.

5. Ibid .

6. Chris Maser. Resolving Environmental Conflict: Toward Sustainable Community
Development . St. Lucie Press, Delray Beach, FL. 1996. 200 pp.