The epistemic jumble of sustainable development

Abstract

In this chapter, the author demonstrates that the translation of scientific knowledge for the layperson is anything but a purely technical question. Besides the science, the translation must take into account the social and the political arenas. Having established this groundwork for the conceptualization of social communication, the author examines the canonical model of sustainable development as presented in the media and on websites. Using this model as an example, the chapter analyses the reduction of scientific, social and political complexity to a descriptive and symmetrically organized presentation of science, history and society, and the production of sustainability management indicators. © 2008 Springer Netherlands.