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1) What is the specific topic of the article? 2) What do the writers argue about that specific topic?
Sustainability and Intergenerational Social EquityEdmund C. Stazyk, Alisa Moldovanova, and H. George Frederickson1. Perhaps no word in modern languages means so little and much as sustainability. As both a wordand concept, sustainability reflects a growing awareness that current human needs and expectationsmust be balanced against the immediate and long-term capacity of supporting ecosystems(IUCN/UNEP/ WWF, 1991; UN General Assembly, 1987). The most commonly utilized depiction ofsustainable development traces from the Brundtland Commission, which describes the process as'development that meets the needs of the present without compromising? the ability of futuregenerations to meet their own needs" (UN General Assembly, 1987). Without maintainingsupporting ecosystems today and into the future, the continued health and survival of humanity isquestionable. Sustainability provides a seemingly neat and simple lens through which many of theconflicting demands facing modern societies may be viewed. Efforts to address these conflictingdemands require balancing a complex mix of environmental, social, and economics pressures-theso-called three pillars of sustainability (UN General Assembly, 2005).2. Sustainability has come primarily to be associated with the environmental movement. However,sustainability is hardly a new concept. In fact, 2,500 years ago, citizens of the Athenian city-state tookthe following oath:We will ever strive for the ideals and sacred things of the city, both alone and with many; wewill continuously seek to quicken the sense of public duty; we will respect and obey the city'slaws; we will transmit this city not only not less, but greater, better and more beautiful thanit was left to us.With this oath, Athenian citizens accepted the responsibility to effectively conduct the affairs of thecity. They pledged to leave the city better for future generations-in other words, to practicesustainability.3. From the Greeks, we learn that sustainability has long been valued. We also learn that sustainabilityencompasses more than a narrow emphasis on environmental management. In this broader historicalcontext, sustainability can be understood primarily as a form of intergenerational fairness, whichclaims that current generations have obligations toward future generations abound. Rawls (1971) isone of the leading advocates for including future generations in the domain of justice and suggeststhat classical reflections on morality and ethics frequently include future generations as worthy ofconsideration. In other words, current generations have a moral obligation to future generations.Sustainability as a Form of Equity4. Taken together, the perspectives reviewed above indicate future generations are a valid andimportant domain of consideration. We do, in fact, have an inherent obligation to future generationsthat must be met when possible. The challenge is this: How can and should our obligations to futuregenerations be balanced against current needs and expectations? The best method for sorting out ourobligations to present and future generations rests in treating sustainability as a concept that hasprimarily to do with equity across generations. Therefore, sustainability addresses the universal senseof belonging and emphasizes shared values of humanity.
