Sustainability: Which Way Now?

Bhabani Shankar Nayak

Dr Samuel O Idowu

Dr Amr Khafagy

Background

‘Sustainability’ is neither new nor an old concept of critical inquiry. It was evolved in response to ecological challenges and environmental crisis of dominant economic systems shaped by capitalism in early 19th century (Magdoff & Foster,2011). The inherent perilous nature of capitalist system has produced social, economic, cultural, and political processes and systems, where few controlled and exploited people and the planet. The alienation of human beings and alienation of nature (Foster, 2000) is the direct outcome, which led to an uneven and unsustainable world, where commodification is central to the processes of production and reproduction the pyramid of profit. It is within this context, ‘sustainability’ emerged as if it is a panacea for all ills of capitalism.  With the idea of ‘sustainability’ increasing as a dominant discourse increasing its prevalence across all sectors and sections of our social, economic, cultural, and political life.

The term ‘sustainability’ has become increasingly predominant all kinds of debates and discourses on economic development policies and public policies for social development. It is also used as a business and marketing strategies (Kumar, Rahman, Kazmi, & Goyal, 2012) of global, regional, national, and local corporations and civil society organisations. It encompasses a wide range of issues integral to the sustainable future of our planet and its people. It is fundamentally transforming the processes of production, distribution, and consumption. However, the competitive landscape and boundaries of capitalism and all its processes and institutions use ‘sustainability’ as a marketing slogan to sustain itself without transforming the conditions that produces ‘unsustainability’. Understanding issues of 'unsustainability' and exploring the conditions that produce it are of paramount importance.

From the United Nations to universities, from states and governments to corporations and civil society organizations, there is widespread discussion of 'sustainability' as a foundational framework for economic development, public policy, education, and empowerment. However, the debates and discourses surrounding 'sustainability' often neglect to critique capitalism as a system that is central to the creation of an unsustainable level of exploitation and commodification of both nature and human beings. Capitalism devalues nature and the people it affects, and this is the fundamental source of uneven and unsustainable development processes. Foster (2015) has argued for a radical socio-ecological transition that places people and the planet at the centre.

In this context, this interdisciplinary workshop and volume propose to examine various aspects of 'sustainability' within our everyday practices in education, teaching, curriculum, production, distribution, consumption, and policy discourses, as well as in business, finance, and management practices. The volume intends to expand the ‘Theory of Metabolic Rift’ (Foster, 1999; Moore, 2017) within the paradigm of sustainability. The volume proposes following central issues but not limited within these issues.

Aims and Scope of the Volume/Special Issue

• Sustainable education, teaching, curriculum, and consciousness.
• Sustainable production, distribution, supply chain and consumption.
• Ecological and environmental crisis.
• Sustainable development and public policy.
• Sustainable economic growth and equity.
• Renewable transition, conservation, and biodiversity.
• Feminist Eco-socialism.
• Social equity, inclusivity, and governance.
• Sustainable technology, AI and innovation.
• Culture and sustainability.
• Global challenges to sustainability.
• Alternative movements and practices on sustainability.
• Sustainable business and management practices.
• Sustainable Climate Finance.
• Sustainable Policies, Processes, and Institutions.
• Varieties of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability.

Paper Style, Publications, Venue and Deadlines

• Following three dates for your diaries.

• Papers of no more than 7000 words using the Harvard-style referencing should be submitted by 27th of May 2024 to b.nayak@londonmet.ac.uk  along with an abstract, draft paper and short academic biography for the one-day conference on 18th of June 2024.

• The final papers can be submitted by 26th of August 2024 for publication.

• Based on the reviewers comments and feedback, the papers will be published in a proposed special issue of Development and Change (ABS3* journal) and an edited book will be published in 2025 by the Palgrave MacMillan, London. 

• Conference venue will in the Guildhall School of Business and Law (GSBL),

             London Metropolitan University, 166–220 Holloway Road, London, , N7 8DB.

About the Editors

Prof. Bhabani Shankar Nayak is a political economist and works as Professor of Business Management, Guildhall School of Business and Law, London Metropolitan University, UK.

Dr Samuel O Idowu works as Senior Lecturer in Accounting, Guildhall School of Business and Law, London Metropolitan University, UK. He is a world leading authority and published extensively on issues of sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

Dr Amr Khafagy is a development economist and works as Lecturer in Finance, Guildhall School of Business and Law, London Metropolitan University, UK.  His research explores the political economy of finance and the dynamics of income and wealth distribution, the economics of cooperatives, and the political economy of the Middle East.

References

Foster, J. B. (1999). Marx's theory of metabolic rift: Classical foundations for environmental sociology. American Journal of Sociology, 105(2), 366-405.

Foster, J. B. (2000): Marx’s Ecology: Materialism and Nature, New York: Monthly Review Press, pp 73-74.

Foster, J. B., Clark, B., & York, R. (2010). The Ecological Rift: Capitalisms War on the Earth. NYU Press.

Foster, J. B. (2015): “Marxism and Ecology: Common Fonts of a Great Transition,” Monthly Review, Vol 67, No 7, pp 1–13.

Kumar, V., Rahman, Z., Kazmi, A. A., & Goyal, P. (2012). Evolution of sustainability as marketing strategy: Beginning of new era. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 37, 482-489.

Magdoff, F., & Foster, J. B. (2011). What Every Environmentalist Needs to Know About Capitalism. NYU Press.

Moore, J. W. (2017). Metabolic rift or metabolic shift? Dialectics, nature, and the world-historical method. Theory and Society, 46, 285-318.