Sufficiency and the state: A prospective project
Sufficiency as a social organizing principle can be applied to individuals, organizations, and economies. But if the encompassing social structure, namely, the state, is still organized around expansionist principles like efficiency and growth, the outcome will be the same—excess, the exceeding of r...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Sustainability |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsus.2022.956139/full |
| _version_ | 1811325369637142528 |
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| author | Thomas Princen |
| author_facet | Thomas Princen |
| author_sort | Thomas Princen |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Sufficiency as a social organizing principle can be applied to individuals, organizations, and economies. But if the encompassing social structure, namely, the state, is still organized around expansionist principles like efficiency and growth, the outcome will be the same—excess, the exceeding of regenerative capacities biophysical and social, local to global. A prospective project of effecting fundamental social change argues that sufficiency must be applied to the state. From a natural resources perspective defining features of the state form are concentration and surplus both of which tend to excess and require endless frontiers. Re-organizing to counter this tendency and institutionalizing sufficiency requires imaginative politics. A long multicultural human history of reorganizing to adapt to environmental conditions bodes well. Resistance, though, even as the contradictions play out, is to be expected. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:32:01Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-b1f5cb0267bb486d9c4fca18729f49f0 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-4524 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T14:32:01Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Sustainability |
| spelling | doaj.art-b1f5cb0267bb486d9c4fca18729f49f02022-12-22T02:43:10ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Sustainability2673-45242022-11-01310.3389/frsus.2022.956139956139Sufficiency and the state: A prospective projectThomas PrincenSufficiency as a social organizing principle can be applied to individuals, organizations, and economies. But if the encompassing social structure, namely, the state, is still organized around expansionist principles like efficiency and growth, the outcome will be the same—excess, the exceeding of regenerative capacities biophysical and social, local to global. A prospective project of effecting fundamental social change argues that sufficiency must be applied to the state. From a natural resources perspective defining features of the state form are concentration and surplus both of which tend to excess and require endless frontiers. Re-organizing to counter this tendency and institutionalizing sufficiency requires imaginative politics. A long multicultural human history of reorganizing to adapt to environmental conditions bodes well. Resistance, though, even as the contradictions play out, is to be expected.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsus.2022.956139/fullsufficiencysustainabilitythe statesurplusgrowthtransition |
| spellingShingle | Thomas Princen Sufficiency and the state: A prospective project Frontiers in Sustainability sufficiency sustainability the state surplus growth transition |
| title | Sufficiency and the state: A prospective project |
| title_full | Sufficiency and the state: A prospective project |
| title_fullStr | Sufficiency and the state: A prospective project |
| title_full_unstemmed | Sufficiency and the state: A prospective project |
| title_short | Sufficiency and the state: A prospective project |
| title_sort | sufficiency and the state a prospective project |
| topic | sufficiency sustainability the state surplus growth transition |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frsus.2022.956139/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT thomasprincen sufficiencyandthestateaprospectiveproject |