Basic theory of sustainable development

The basic theory of sustainable development is still in the process of exploration and formation. At present, there are many viewpoints or theoretical schools when considering this basic theoretical problem from different aspects. The following is just a brief introduction of several representative theoretical prototypes.

(A) the theory of sustainable utilization of resources

Various natural resources can be simply divided into two categories according to whether they have the nature of self-regeneration, namely renewable resources and non-renewable resources. On the premise of rational utilization, the former can be self-produced, self-renewed or naturally renewed, and endless, such as land resources, biological resources, water resources and so on. The latter does not have the ability of self-reproduction, or the nature cannot renew itself (or the speed of renewal is extremely slow relative to the utilization speed of human beings), and the storage in nature will gradually decrease until it is exhausted, such as mineral resources and fossil energy. Non-renewable resources can be divided into renewable resources and non-renewable resources.

Natural resources not only provide raw materials and energy for human beings, but also provide services for human beings in other forms. As the basic source of material needs for human survival, human demand for natural resources has never stopped since the emergence of human beings. However, before the industrial revolution, the relationship between man and natural resources was always relatively calm. Because the productivity level is relatively backward, the material demand structure is monotonous and thin, and the pressure on natural resources is not great. After the industrial revolution, the demand for natural resources has become more and more intense, the demand has been increasing, and the quality of demand has become more and more refined. Today, the breadth and depth of natural resources development and utilization have reached an unprecedented level. While people are intoxicated with the increasingly rich material civilization they have achieved, they are dismayed to find that the resource crisis and related environmental crisis brought about by over-exploitation and utilization of natural resources have been cruelly placed in front of us, such as the sharp decline of forests, grassland degradation, the disappearance and diversity reduction of biological species, land erosion and desertification, the rapid consumption of fossil energy and minerals, and even some species have dried up, air and water pollution, ozone hole and greenhouse effect. To sum up, the problems of natural resources utilization are mainly manifested in the following two aspects: first, some non-renewable resources as energy and raw materials have far exceeded the reasonable dosage and grade of our contemporary people due to excessive or uncontrolled development and utilization, and have been close to or partially exhausted; Secondly, due to improper use or poor management, the regenerative capacity of renewable resources has been seriously damaged, thus limiting the possibility of utilization.

From the perspective of sustainable utilization of natural resources, for renewable resources, human beings must consider whether it will damage the self-renewal ability of this resource or the renewal ability of nature, and do a good job in planning, management, compensation, reconstruction, recycling and environmental protection. So as to avoid changes in the quality and quantity of resources provided, or even degradation to the point where such resources cannot be provided, otherwise the utilization of renewable resources is unsustainable. For non-renewable resources, before there is no new substitute or the way of life and production changes, because the total stock of such resources is fixed in a certain geological period, the total stock will be reduced by how much it is used; In this sense, the "unsustainability" of the utilization of non-renewable resources is absolute, while the "sustainability" is relative. Therefore, the so-called sustainable utilization of this kind of resources does not mean keeping its stock level unchanged, but that its utilization rate and consumption rate are so low that new substitutes can be found before its stock is exhausted, that is to say, the sustainable utilization rate must be lower than or at most equal to the corresponding value in the time period when substitutes may be discovered or developed. Due to the uncertainty of the formation or discovery rate of substitutes, the sustainable utilization of non-renewable resources can only mean reducing its consumption rate as much as possible.

(B) the value theory of "public goods"

The "public goods" in economics must have the characteristics of non-competitiveness and non-exclusiveness in consumption. The non-competitiveness of consumption generally means that someone's consumption of an item will not reduce or interfere with others' consumption of the item. For example, the atmospheric environment is a non-competitive consumer product, because someone breathing fresh air will not affect others breathing fresh air. For a long time in the past, many natural environments and natural resources were regarded as "public goods", but in recent decades, due to the increasingly serious environmental pollution and resource destruction, such as high-quality atmospheric environment and clean water resources, they are no longer pure public goods that can be used indefinitely without affecting others. Therefore, the value theory of "public goods" holds that environmental quality can be regarded as public goods, but it has certain value and price when it is used by human beings, mainly because it often needs to pay a high price to restore the original state after the environmental quality deteriorates, and the environmental deterioration often brings huge losses to related industries or production and operation; Therefore, it is necessary to bring the value of environmental quality into the economic accounting system from economics, and explore the best mode for human beings to engage in various production and business activities from economics in order to prevent the deterioration of environmental quality and ensure the sustainable development of human society. For example, paper mills and chemical plants in the upper reaches of the river discharge pollutants, causing pollution of the whole river, causing huge economic losses to agriculture, aquaculture and people's domestic water in the middle and lower reaches of the river, which is not worth the loss from an economic point of view; There are still many losses and harms caused by the deterioration of environmental quality to human beings that are difficult to assess in the short term, and some may be more deadly hazards in the future, such as the emission of greenhouse gases and the depletion of the ozone layer, which must also be highly valued.

(C) the theory of intergenerational fair distribution of wealth

According to Brundtland's definition, "sustainable development is a kind of development that not only meets the needs of contemporary people, but also does not damage the ability of future generations to meet their needs." The implicit judgment of this definition is that today's development model meets the needs of contemporary people, but it damages the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Compared with future generations, contemporary people have greater "first Mover" advantage, that is, they have greater opportunities to use and occupy resources objectively, so it is difficult for contemporary people to restrain their impulse to overuse and occupy resources. Therefore, the discussion about whether intergenerational equity can be realized mainly comes from the concern about the development opportunities of future generations. Obviously, according to Brundtland's definition, establishing a new theoretical system from the perspective of intergenerational wealth distribution equity has become one of the basic theories of sustainable development; Its core is still how to treat the interests of nature and future generations, and what attitude and way to take today's actions.

Generally speaking, social wealth should include artificial capital, natural capital and human capital. Artificial capital is wealth or products created by human activities, including machines, factories, infrastructure, roads and ships. Natural capital is an asset that can be used in human social and economic activities in nature, including various natural resources, environmental purification capacity and various environmental ecological functions. Human capital includes labor force (including knowledge and skills) and corresponding investment in education, health and nutrition. Some scholars believe that if the total wealth left by contemporary people to future generations is not less than that left by the previous generation, it can be considered that the wealth distribution between generations is fair and can meet the needs of sustainable development. However, some scholars believe that it is necessary to distinguish the three kinds of capital in the total wealth, keep the share of each capital basically unchanged, but allow a specific capital to be replaced by another capital form. That is, the reduction of a certain type of capital stock is compensated by other forms of capital of the same type, not by other types of capital. For example, for natural capital, the income from running out of oil not only needs to be reinvested in natural capital, but also needs to ensure that future generations can get at least as much energy as we consume today. In particular, we should consider that some functions of natural capital are irreplaceable, such as clean water, air purification, waste degradation, CO2 balance, ultraviolet filtration and new drug development. Generally speaking, the pursuit of total capital stock (especially natural capital) is not reduced between generations, and ensuring the minimum safety standard of environmental (natural) capital is the constraint condition of sustainable development from the economic point of view, which is of guiding significance as a macro-guiding strategy.