The green economy within an emerging new cosmology perspective: rethinking sustainability

Date
2016-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University
Abstract
ENGLISH SUMMARY: The concept of the ‘green economy’ was revived after the recent global financial crisis of 2007-2011. The different interpretations of the financial crisis led to multiple solutions being proposed about sustainability. However, the different analyses of and discourses on the green economy have remained dualistic, with the result that the (green) corporate industrial capitalist growth economy has continued to be the dominant discourse with little shift to considerations of sustainability. This research provides a cosmological and discourse analysis of the various different discourses on the green economy. It aims to address the dichotomy of where only the evolving self is seen as living and purposeful within a dead, random mechanistic universe. Furthermore, it aims to provide an alternative vision and discourse on the green economy and sustainability. The scientific method of a rational discursive dialectic is broadened to include more intuitive, imaginative, speculative and visionary aspects. Fresh insights from the emerging new cosmology and the emerging new field of archetypal cosmology can assist in the journey towards sustainability as they provide not only a critique of the underlying assumptions in the current discourses on the green economy, but also an emerging new philosophy, cosmology and consciousness by means of which one can rethink sustainable futures.
AFRIKAANS OPSOMMING: Die begrip ‘groen ekonomie’ beleef ’n herlewing na die globale finansiële krisis van 2007-2011. Verskillende interpretasies van die finansiële krisis het verskeie voorstelle vir oplossings rakende volhoubaarheid tot gevolg gehad. Die verskillende analises van, en diskoerse oor, die groen ekonomie het egter dualisties gebly, met die gevolg dat die (groen) korporatiewe industriële kapitalistiese groei-ekonomie as dominante diskoers bly voortbestaan het, met min verskuiwing na oorwegings rakende volhoubaarheid. Hierdie navorsing vervat ’n kosmologiese en diskoersanalitiese ondersoek na die onderskeie diskoerse rakende die groen ekonomie. Dit poog om die digotomie wat tussen lewende, doelgerigte, evoluerende mense en ’n nie-lewende, ewekansige, meganistiese heelal bestaan, aan te spreek, en om ’n alternatiewe visie en diskoers oor die groen ekonomie en volhoubaarheid daar te stel. Die wetenskaplike metode van ’n rasionele diskursiewe dialektiek word verbreed om meer intuïtiewe, verbeeldingryke, spekulatiewe en visionêre aspekte in te sluit. Vars insigte vanuit die ontluikende nuwe kosmologie en die ontluikende nuwe veld van die argetipiese kosmologie kan van waarde wees in die reis op weg na volhoubaarheid, aangesien hulle nie net kritiek op die onderliggende aannames in huidige diskoerse oor die groen ekonomie inhou nie, maar ook ’n ontluikende nuwe filosofie, kosmologie en bewustheid waardeur die volhoubare toekoms herbedink kan word.
Description
Thesis (MPA)--Stellenbosch University, 2016.
Keywords
Green economy, Sustainable development, Sustainability, Cosmology, archtypal, Ecology, integral, UCTD
Citation