Towards a Sustainability-Based Society: An Analysis of Fundamental Values from the Perspective of Economics and Philosophy

Abstract

Sustainability faces numerous challenges when applied to the real-world global economic model of capitalism. In implementing sustainability planning based on the triple bottom line (TBL), the prevailing trend of the economic pillar compromises both the environment and society. A new vision of enduring sustainability is proposed in this paper to address such challenges by first considering the global economic model in the real world and, second, having strong core values of sustainability. To evaluate the first characteristic, a review of the literature regarding capitalism and TBL-sustainability has been conducted. For the second characteristic, a historical–philosophical discussion around the role of society and the economy has been conducted. The results suggest that a realistic sustainable society requires a fixed and sustained focus on environmental and social pillars together with a flexible organisation of society (including its economic model).