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6 - Decisions and Conflicts

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  25 May 2023

Thomas Dietz
Affiliation:
Michigan State University
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Summary

Conflicts around sustainability decisions are driven by at least eight forces. The distribution of risks and benefits is uneven, creating winners and losers. Facts and values, while logically distinct, are often confused. Facts are uncertain. The value implications of emerging issues are not clear. Decisions bring about permanent, concrete changes making compromise difficult. Those disadvantaged by a decision often have little say in it and did not generate the problem, raising concerns about harm to innocents. The boundaries between what is public and what is private are often confused and contested. Competence about some aspects of decision-making, such as assessing facts, can be confused with competence about other aspects of decision-making, such as assessing values. In addition, major long-standing controversies about transforming political economies and ecosystems are part of the background to most sustainability decisions.

Type
Chapter
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Decisions for Sustainability
Facts and Values
, pp. 98 - 113
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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  • Decisions and Conflicts
  • Thomas Dietz, Michigan State University
  • Book: Decisions for Sustainability
  • Online publication: 25 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009169400.007
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  • Decisions and Conflicts
  • Thomas Dietz, Michigan State University
  • Book: Decisions for Sustainability
  • Online publication: 25 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009169400.007
Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

  • Decisions and Conflicts
  • Thomas Dietz, Michigan State University
  • Book: Decisions for Sustainability
  • Online publication: 25 May 2023
  • Chapter DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009169400.007
Available formats
×