What do we mean by Sustainable Development?

The need to go beyond Gross Domestic Product (GDP) -centered growth for developing (and 'developed') countries has, perhaps, never been so widely recognized as now. It is hardly a new thought. In 1934, Simon Kuznets, GNP's creator, said, "The welfare of a nation can scarcely be inferred from a measurement of national income." In 1973, President of the World Bank MacNamara declared a decade 'beyond GDP'. Yet, despite the general admittance of its failure in determining a country's ability to be independent or 'developed' (or happy), it is still used. This is part of what many social scientists call a 'sticky' narrative: it refuses to go away even when declared problematic. In today's economic downturn, many remain riveted on the GDP to indicate the state of the economy.

Yet for the lack of real movement beyond GDP by major donor agencies, much of academia, progressive funders, and various aspects of the private sector have found ways to move beyond a GDP-centric worldview. For many, the question of sustainable development is a version of the triple bottom line of 'people, planet, prosper': sustainable livelihoods (maintained over generations not mere short-term job creation) sustainable environment (a phrase that can encompass everything from clean rivers to healthy workplaces) and sustainable financial/economic growth.

In this blog, I explore with you all of these aspects in private, public and other variations of human endeavors to create a world that will work for all of us and for our future generations - before its too late. Never has this been so needed; never have so many good minds and strong hands been given to this endeavor. It will take all of us to un-stick ourselves from the technocratic, GDP-centric habits that have defined the development of the 'rich' and 'poor' countries alike and create a clean green economy where we can realize true prosperity. I look forward to your comments, ideas, suggestions, feedback, concerns, and solutions to build a new world.