Out of Control

Every group has its buzzwords.

Go to a college campus and you’ll hear lots of talk about “diversity.” Go to a corporate board meeting and you’ll hear lots of talk about “synergy.” Go to a conference of urban planners and you’ll get buried in “sustainability” talk.

Here’s Peter Gordon on sustainability:

Many observers see the world as having “problems” that cry out for “solutions.” Yet, more than one wise man has noted that there are no “solutions,” only trade-offs. Looked at in this way, many of the “solutions” that fall under the heading “sustainability planning” must be carefully reconsidered.

He argues that open-ended flexible markets are the way to achieve a sustainable future, but

much of proposed “sustainability planning” appears to foreclose options and flexibility—and real sustainability.

Read the whole paper here.