How Ambiguity Helped Sustainable Development Spread

An Albertan oil man and a socialist policy wonk from Saskatchewan banded together to think up “eco-development,” a precursor to today’s sustainable development. This unlikely duo forged a global consensus at the United Nations, effectively codifying the reigning orthodoxy of liberal environmental governance. They told us that capitalism and sustainability are indeed compatible. Might that be the most utopian of all green dreams?

If you want to learn more about this history, we recommend the work of Dr. Steven Bernstein of the University of Toronto, whose was formative in the shaping of this episode. We recommend his excellent book The Compromise of Liberal Environmentalism.

This is the second episode of our new season, Green Dreams. For a full list of credits, and for the rest of the episodes, visit the series page. There, you will find information about next week’s episode: The Green Monkey Wrench.

Plus: Live in Toronto? Come out to our live event, October 2nd.