Sustainability and the System Problem
by Gar Alperovitz
Based on an address to the Executive Staff of the
President's Council on Sustainable Development
The Good Society, Vol. 5, No.3, Fall 1995

Page 4 of 8
Confronting the System Issue

If, in truth, the problems of capitalist nations, like those of the former socialist states, are systemic in origin then self-evidently--indeed by definition--they cannot be solved unless systemic change occurs. Again, the point is obvious when we look "out" at another system; much more daunting when we look "in" at our own.

Part of our difficulty in confronting the system issue on the environmental front is that we often have trouble distinguishing between reforms which help ameliorate the worst aspects of environmental degradation and changes which actually result in altering trends. At the most general level positive reforms which diminish harmful effects on the environment obviously occur within capitalist systems. Legislation is passed that helps control pollution; progress is made in eliminating lead and CFCs; there are improvements in the reduction of sulfur oxides, carbon monoxide, and particulates.

Let me urge, however, that it is absolutely essential that we discriminate much more carefully among the following three categories of change--"A": occasional breakthroughs; "B": token reforms and "gains"; and "C": significant long-term trend reversals. Although most of our environmental debate--and certainly efforts at policy reform--are focused on fostering occasional breakthroughs, token reforms and gains, a great deal of evidence points to the conclusion that the outcome trends that matter most in terms of sustainability are commonly not significantly affected by the "A" and "B" type improvements.

I have sketched some of the obvious consumption/resource indicators above.

With certain exceptions--for instance, modest but tangible gains in air and water quality in the United States --a recent study of long trends in twenty-one environmental factors recently compiled by the organization I head confirms general worsening of important ecological outcomes in each of nine industrialized countries surveyed over the past two decades. This despite the fact that the period began with the first Earth Day, and extended through an environmental "awakening" that spawned a flurry of legislation, reform, the establishment of environmental ministries, green planning, and growing ecological consciousness and grassroots activism. Moreover, had economic growth been anywhere near the levels business and government leaders in these nine nations sought, outcome trends of environmental degradation would have been far, far worse. And, of course, recent political developments suggest that the underlying power-institutional relationships make a roll-back even of many once seemingly secure "gains" likely.

If the basic trend data we are beginning to see across a wide range of indicators are even close to being accurate, what we are confronting is a system problem. Put another way: if most trends can in fact only be marginally altered by traditional ideas of reform, then the system properties of capitalism are by definition incompatible with the goal of an ecologically sustainable future.

Furthermore, if it is truly the case that both capitalism and socialism are systems inherently organized in ways that are incompatible with sustainability--that neither system can produce desired ecological outcome results precisely because of their inherent system architecture and power dynamics--then either there is no way out of the box, or (self-evidently) ultimately we will need to come up with a different system design.

In honesty and logic, we must acknowledge that there may not be an alternative way forward; that there may not be an answer to this problem.

Quite simply, one possibility is that it may not be feasible to build the institutions and the culture required to achieve sustainability. However, if we do not accept this pessimistic conclusion--and I do not--then (equally self-evidently) we need to begin to engage in a serious discussion of system designs compatible with the principles of sustainability.

The question is: are we prepared to face up to the cold realities of such a challenge? Yes, I know the old saying--"you can't change the system!" But, no, I do not believe you can hide from what is self-evident forever. Hence, I propose that we at least try to think about the issue--and begin a serious dialogue. As Joan Rivers likes to say: "Can we talk about this?"

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