Is Sustainable Development Compatible With Human Welfare?

Assignment 1
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Assignment 1
One of the common issues present in debates in the business world is sustainable development. Is sustainable development viable? Can it be attained while improving human welfare? Two authors, Jeremy Rifkin and Ronald Bailey, present opposing views on the topic. While Rifkin supports the idea that sustainable development is compatible with human welfare, Bailey argues that it is not. This paper supports Bailey’s argument that sustainable development is not compatible with human welfare because it leads to economic stagnation and threatens the environment and the world’s poor.
Economic growth is the key to improving human welfare. It is through economic growth that people’s ability to purchase goods and services improve resulting in better healthcare, nutrition, education, and many other benefits. If sustainable development goals limit the attainment of economic goals by countries, then sustainable development is incompatible with human welfare. Bailey quotes supporters of sustainable development, who are against electricity and fuel (Rifkin &Bailey, 2012), the key components that drive economic growth. It is important to recognize the dependence of economic growth on energy, particularly energy that is environmentally unfriendly. Given the costs that come with renewable energy, economic growth depends to a great extent on non-renewable energy. While it is not sustainable, it contributes to improving human welfare. As asserted by Bailey, “economic growth is a prerequisite for lessening poverty…” (Rifkin & Bailey, 2012, p.32). Therefore, sustainable development is incompatible with human welfare because it limits economic growth.
One of the key points made by Bailey in support of his argument is that poverty eradication is necessary for the prevention of environmental degradation (Rifkin & Bailey, 2012). Billions of people around the world are poor. In Bailey’s article, he points out that billions of people lack safe drinking water, sanitation, and modern energy services (Rifkin & Ba...