Sustainable economy - Book Report/Review Example

angements like the Bretton Woods Institutions and the WTO having got largely eroded by their apparent pro-developed world bias, the observations at the 9th Annual EABIS Colloquium on Corporate Responsibility and Emerging Markets are indeed timely as well as relevant. Through the 20th century, we had disillusionment first with laissez-faire and then with socialist model of economy. The notion that public sector is bound to be inefficient would be just incorrect as the belief that institutionalization of private enterprise can be the elixir of economy.

Appleton’s presentation points out that it is high time we realized how the two complement each other. Market-based solutions do have the potential to bring about rapid development, but to make it sustainable and inclusive, the solutions that we wish to effect must go hand in hand with environmental regulations and development assistance. Helping people out of poverty is not a philanthropic concern. It is the best investment we can make to turn the current vicious circle into a virtuous one, as has been illustrated by Brazil and China.

It makes sense to believe that integrating Jeffrey Sachs’ vision of enlightened globalization that addresses the misery of the poorest of the poor with Appleton’s recommendations on broader perspectives towards economic policies (by governments) and better economic education can transform the idea of sustainable economy from a utopian dream to a viable global goal. In principle, there is no reason why building a sustainable economy should be considered something that is inherently impossible.

When, then makes it a big idea? It makes us wonder if George Orwell was by no means stretching it a bit in his observation in Animal Farm that ‘man is the only creature that consumes without producing’. Chouinard, Ellison and Ridgeway, in their report, effectively drive the point home that one does not have to be an environmentalist to appreciate the significance of healthy ecosystems.