Democracies, change, sustainability, and transformation: historical perspectives

• Main Author: Andreas Fahrmeir
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Taylor & Francis Group 2020-12-01
• Series: Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy
• Subjects: sustainability transformations; urban waste; financial sustainability; welfare state; historical perspectives on sustainability
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2020.1781329

This article discusses the potential of a historical approach to sustainability transformations. Using environmental issues and governance structures as case studies, it first describes how historical “sustainability transformations” can be conceptualized. It then suggests that 19th-century constitutional reforms can be read as attempts at reaching fiscal sustainability, whereas some social reforms can be interpreted as attempts to render the capitalist economy sustainable. In conclusion, the article highlights that the primary value of historical approaches to sustainability transformations will not lie in models, but in encouraging more creative questions.