The Ethics of Sustainability

1. The Ethics of Sustainability Jean Kazez Philosophy Department SMU

2. PEMBANGUNAN PERKELANJUTAN • Sustainable development • Sustainable fishing • Sustainable agriculture • Sustainable consumption • Sustainable mining • Sustainable drilling • Sustainable forestry

3. What does it mean? Sustainable X-ing = Doing X in such a way that future people will have “enough and as good”* * Phrase from John Locke, 1690

4. Jika berkelanjutan maka tidak bersalah? • Sustainable graffiti • Sustainable tiger hunting • Sustainable whaling • Sustainable cannibalism

5. Jika itu diperbolehkan untuk melakukan X, maka kita berkewajiban untuk melakukan X secaraberkelanjutan But why are we obligated? Are we really?

6. X X = building, farming, fishing, mining, drilling, etc. 2012 2025 2050 2075 2100 Mengapa kita harus meninggalkan X sebanyak dan sebaik sekarangini, untuk generasimasa depan? Bagaimana jika halitumengharuskan kita untuk mengorbankanuang, pekerjaan, waktu, kepuasan, dll.?

7. X 2012 2025 2050 2075 2100 X = building, farming, fishing, mining, drilling, etc. 2. Haruskahkita berkorban untuk orang-orang di masa depan samadenganuntukorang-orang dimasasekarang?

8. Debat tentang Tugas untuk GenerasiMasa Depan ….. we must give the same consideration to future people as to people living right now. ….there are good reasons to sacrifice less for future people than for people living right now. The further in the future, the less we should sacrifice.

9. Pembelaorangmasadepan • Students prejudiced. • Prejudice against future people is like prejudice against other disadvantaged groups. • We are all susceptible to this prejudice. • We even feel it toward our own future selves.

10. Pembela orang masa depan • We are like people at a party saying “first come first served!” • Earth’s resources belong to all, no matter when they “arrive”. Locke (1690): “the earth and all inferior creatures” are “common to all men” • Locke: we can appropriate resources by “mixing our labor” with them, but only if we leave “enough and as good” for others (present and future).

11. Pembela orang masa depan • Guardians of the Future: – Future people are entitled to political representation

12. Penekan Orang Masa Depan • Discount means “should sacrifice less for them” – not “should totally dismiss.” • The further in the future, the more we should discount; 2025 vs. 2100. • Economics: social discount rate.

13. Social Discount Rate(1.4% vs. 6%) John Broome, “The Ethics of Climate Change,” Scientific American, 2008

14. Mengapa men-diskonorang masa depan?Beberapa alasan yang “menyeramkan” • Most future people are non-existent. Why should we make sacrifices for non-existent people? • Our policies, however reckless, will alter who exists in the future. Whoever exists will most likely be glad they exist, so they won’t have any complaint about our policies.

15. Mengapa men-diskonorang masa depan?Beberapa alasan yang “lainnya” • God will provide … maybe even a second planet! • The end is nigh – eat drink and be merry!

16. Mengapa men-diskonorang masa depan?Beberapa alasan yang “lebihbaik” • Nearer future people are closer relatives of ours, so we have stronger obligations to them. • Future people will be richer than us; poor don’t have to help rich.

17. Mengapa men-diskonorang masa depan?Beberapa alasan yang “lebihbaik” • We should save for future people not spend for them (they’ll be better off) • There are a zillion future people – we can’t have duties to them all.

18. Mengapa men-diskonorang masa depan?Beberapa alasan yang “lebihbaik” • They will havewe can’t anticipate.

19. Defenders vs. DiscountersWhich side is right? Pembela vs.Penekan Sisi mana yang benar?

20. Manakah alasan-alasan yang baik untuk diskon masalah orang di masa depan? • Nearer future people are relatives of ours. • Future people will be richer than us; why should poor give to rich? • We should save for them, not spend on them now. • There are a zillion future people – we can’t have duties to them all. • They will have knowledge and technology we can’t predict.

21. The Mixed Truth • Should overcome bias. • No fixed rate of discount. • Should not assume future people will be rich; we may make them poor! • However, we should try to avoid wasting money and effort on NAGs.

22. Definite NAGDon’t bother • Sustainable song-writing (save some melodies for future generations). • Sustainable mountain-climbing (save some first ascents for future generations). • Can you think of a non-silly example of a definite NAG? Definite NAG Might be NAG Might be NAG Definitely not NAG Don’t botherNot worth it Should do anywayMust do

23. Definitely not NAGMust do • Sustainable land use – future people will not be able to “invent” new land (e.g. city living, building “up”) • Conservation – future people will not be able to recreate wilderness and biodiversity that we destroy • Population control –future people will not be able to cope with huge populations

24. Might be NAG should do anyway • Greenhouse gas reduction (future people may have geoengineering solution) • Eat less meat because it wastes land (future people may be eating lab meat)

25. Might be NAGnot worth it • Very high probability of helpful future knowledge • Very high sacrifice and expense for us • Examples?

26. Ikhtisar • Sustainable X-ing means saving “enough and as good” for future people • Sustainable X-ing is only good if X is permissible to begin with • There’s a debate between discounters and defenders of future people • Wise planners will avoid NAG-ing.

27. Bibliography • John Broome, “The Ethics of Climate Change,” Scientific American 2008 • John Locke, The Second Treatise of Government, 1690 • Derek Parfit, “Energy Policy and the Further Future: The Social Discount Rate” (1983) • Derek Parfit, Reasons and Persons, 1984 • Matt Ridley, The Rational Optimist: How Prosperity Evolves (2010) • FAO (United Nations), Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options • SahotraSarkar, Environmental Philosophy: From Theory to Practice (2012) • Peter Singer, One World: The Ethics of Globalization (2002)