Die Online-Plattform MINE - eine Brücke zwischen Umwelt und Wirtschaft

The sustainable management of natural resources is one of the most important tasks humanity faces. The interdisciplinary online platform MINE-Mapping the Interplay between Nature andEconomy (www.nature-economy.de) aims to contribute to this. MINE can be understood as a bridge between social sciences, economics and the natural sciences. Important building blocks of this bridge are considerations from the fields of political philosophy and ethics. For socioecological transformation processes, MINE offers foundations that are theoretically comprehensive and at the same time practical for politics and economics. Our considerations show how the ideas of MINE came into being, what constitutes the peculiarity of its approach and what it is capable of achieving. In this way, interested persons from the scientific community as well as ecologically engaged citizens should be led towards a fruitful work with the online platform. After the introduction in Part I, in Part II, from the perspective of Malte Faber, who speaks in first-person, motives and experiences are recounted that have led him to found an interdisciplinary research cooperation since 1980. The methods and insight generated in this cooperation became groundbreaking for MINE. Part III deals with the importance of philosophical reasoning for MINE and addresses some guiding ideas and basic building blocks of MINE's approach from a philosophical perspective. In Part IV, five concepts of MINE - three aspects of time, ignorance, joint production, political responsibility and, power of judgment - are introduced to illustrate the MINE-approach by a concrete transformation problem, namely the river Emscher; which was the central sewer of the Ruhr area around 1900 and was completely renaturalized after several decades in 2020. In Part V, Malte Faber illustrates, again in the firstperson perspective, the orientation of MINE through three messages on transformation. In an addendum, Part VI, we critically comment on the five-before-twelve rhetoric that is widespread especially in discourses of climate protection

Relative and absolute scarcity of nature: Assessing the roles of economics and ecology for biodiversity conservation

Our aim in this essay is to identify and analyze some of the difficulties with interdisciplinary integration of economic and ecological contributions to the study of biodiversity loss. We develop our analysis from a widely accepted definition of economics which is based on the concept of scarcity. Taking a closer look at this notion, we find that economics actually limits itself to a very particular aspect of scarcity, which we denote as relative scarcity. We describe in what respect the economic approach towards biodiversity is based on this notion, and also reflect on the specific understanding of the relation of humans and nature behind the economic approach. We then turn to absolute scarcity as another notion of scarcity, and show that this is not within the scope of economics, but has been a theme of ecology and ecological economics. We describe in which way ecological and ecologicaleconomic approaches towards biodiversity are based on the idea of absolute scarcity, and also reflect on the specific understanding of the human-nature relationship behind this notion of scarcity. Against this background, we discuss the roles of economics and ecology for nature conservation. We conclude that the interdisciplinary integration of ecology and economics requires a philosophical underpinning, and suggest a framework for further research

Malthus vs. Wordsworth: Perspectives on humankind, nature and economy

In this paper the view of humankind and nature upon which the thinking of Malthus is founded will be reflected on and contrasted with the opposed understanding of his contemporary Wordsworth. We show that the economic considerations of both are based decidedly on the premise of these views, and that their alternative interpretations of the contemporary economy and the relationship between economy and nature may thus be explained. From the comparison of Malthus and Wordsworth we draw conclusions for modern ecological economics, identifying its Malthusian understanding of nature and reflecting on the capacities and limits implied for further research. We ascribe a central role in the conceptual history of ecological economics to Wordsworth and present his philosophical presumptions as a fruitful alternative for ecological economics. Finally, attention will be drawn to the principle importance of the philosophical foundations underpinning this field of research

Die unterschiedlichen Sichtweisen von Malthus und Wordsworth auf Mensch, Natur und Wirtschaft

Dieser Aufsatz reflektiert das Verständnis von Mensch und Natur, welches dem Denken von Malthus zugrunde liegt und kontrastiert es mit dem völlig anderen Verständnis seines Zeitgenossen William Wordsworth. Wir zeigen, dass die ökonomischen Überlegungen beider entscheidend durch diese Voraussetzungen ihres Denkens bedingt sind und sich hieraus auch ihre unterschiedlichen Analysen zur zeitgenössischen Ökonomie erklären. Aus der Gegenüberstellung von Malthus und Wordsworth ziehen wir schließlich Schlussfolgerungen für die heutige Ökologische Ökonomik. Wir identifizieren das malthusianische Naturverständnis innerhalb dieser Wissenschaft und diskutieren dessen Tragfähigkeit für die weitere Forschung. Wir messen Wordsworth eine bedeutende Rolle in der Ideengeschichte der Ökologischen Ökonomik zu und beschreiben die philosophischen Voraussetzungen seines Denkens als eine fruchtbare alternative Grundlage für die Ökologische Ökonomik. Schließlich betonen wir die prinzipielle Bedeutung einer Grundlagenreflexion im Rahmen dieser Forschungsrichtung

Greta Thunberg und das Klimaproblem. Wie kann eine sozial-ökologische Transformation gelingen?

With the Swedish student Greta Thunberg, the protest for the environment has taken on a personal face. Her central statement is: "Politicians are doing far too little for climate protection. This is irresponsible towards the youth." Something new has happened: Suddenly young people have become the driving force behind social-ecological change. The urge and perceived urgency to counteract environmental destruction is initially strong. Then, however, one realises that the successes seem small compared to the expectations. Over time, this perceived lack of success leads to people becoming more skeptical, less committed or even resigned. The young of today are the old of tomorrow. When youth is over, a trend towards disappointment and resignation seems inevitable. Can this be countered, and if so, how? Here it is worth drawing attention to the experiences of older people who, contrary to this trend, have shown passionate commitment throughout their lives. In order to be successful in terms of environmental policy, it is first necessary to find out what constitutes a social-ecological transformation. Once this has been clarified, older people can help the younger ones; for they can point out orientation marks for the path of a social-ecological transformation. Four of these orientation marks are examined in more detail here: (i) interdisciplinarity, (ii) time and patience, (iii) trust and (iv) public spirit. From these considerations follows a fifth message: Those who advocate social-ecological transformation must not focus solely on ecological and economic goals, but must look at society as a whole and its relationships. Preserving and promoting the public spirit is essential for the success of major changes

On the foundation of a general theory of stocks

This essay develops the "concept of stocks" – a conceptual notion designed to enable a clearer understanding of the interaction between the dynamics of ecosystems and the economy. The notion of stocks is formulated in a general manner based on set theory. The central attribute of a stock is its temporal durability. Seen thus, stocks are suitable for depicting the influences a system’s history has on its present – and hence for analysing temporal developments. Since permanency is a temporal attribute, the concept of stocks is not specifically limited to individual scientific disciplines and is suitable for interdisciplinary analysis. The notion is applied to economic and ecological examples and generalised for stochastic sets. The hierarchical structure of actual ecological-economic systems can be analysed by distinguishing the stock perspective from a system view. The theory of stocks is a building block for the conceptual foundations of ecological economics

Grundlagen sozial-ökologischer Transformationen: Gesellschaftsvertrag, Global Governance und die Bedeutung der Zeit : Eine konstruktive Kritik des WBGU-Gutachtens "Welt im Wandel - Gesellschaftsvertrag für eine große Transformation"

Vor einem Jahrzehnt wurde das Hauptgutachten des Wissenschaftlichen Beirats der Bundesregierung für Globale Umweltveränderungen (WBGU) veröffentlicht. Dieser Versuch einer Bestandsaufnahme im Jahre 2011 hat national und international Impulse gesetzt und Orientierung gegeben. Der WBGU ging aufs Ganze: die Dringlichkeit eines auf nachhaltige Entwicklung zielenden Wandels sollte im Zusammenspiel von Politik, Wirtschaft, Gesellschaft und Natur gezeigt werden. Die zentrale Botschaft war ein „Gesellschaftsvertrag für eine Große Transformation“, der bis 2021 umgesetzt werden müsse. Wie ist der Bericht heute zu beurteilen? Wir werden die Positionen des WGBU referieren, seine Verdienste nennen und sie konstruktiv-kritisch kommentieren. Unser Vorgehen orientiert sich an fünf Themenschwerpunkten des Berichtes, nämlich: Globaler Gesellschaftsvertrag, Global Governance am Beispiel des Pariser Klimaabkommens, Akzeptanz der Beteiligten und Betroffenen, Dringlichkeit des wirtschaftlichen, politischen und gesellschaftlichen Handelns sowie die Idee einer Großen Transformation. In unserer Kritik entwickeln wir Vorschläge für ein konstruktives Weiterdenken dessen, was im WBGU-Bericht angelegt ist, aber nicht zu Ende gedacht wurde. Unsere Schwerpunkte liegen insbesondere auf dem Umgang mit Zeit und dem Begriff der Großen Transformation. Dabei werden wir auch auf die Bedeutung von technischem Forstschritt, Innovation und von Unwissen eingehen. Der Titel des Berichts setzt als Leitmotiv den Begriff der „Großen Transformation“. Dieser Begriff, den Karl Polanyi (1941/44) geprägt hat, soll im Sprachgebrauch des WBGUs die weitreichenden Veränderungen thematisieren, die ein gestaltender Staat unter Beteiligung der Weltbürgerschaft für eine Bewältigung der ökologischen Krise in den nächsten Jahrzehnten vorzunehmen hätte. In unserem Fazit argumentieren wir dagegen, dass die Idee einer einheitlich planbaren und umfassend realisierbaren Transformation der gegenwärtigen Problemlage unangemessen ist. Vielmehr lässt sich beobachten, dass unterschiedliche Akteure an unterschiedlichen Orten mit unterschiedlichen Geschwindigkeiten an einer Vielzahl sozial-ökologischer Transformationsprozesse mitwirken. Die Wirkmächtigkeit solcher Bewegungen, die oft ungeplant und spontan auftreten, nimmt bis in die Gegenwart deutlich zu. Daraus lässt sich Hoffnung schöpfen

Groundwork for social-ecological transformations: The social contract, global governance and the meaning of time. Constructive criticism of the WBGU report world in transition - a social contract for a great transformation

A decade ago, the German Advisory Council to the Federal Government on Global Environmental Change (Wissenschaftlichen Beirats der Bundesregierung für Globale Umweltveränderungen–WBGU) published its main report. This attempt to take stock in 2011 made an impact and provided orientation on both a national and international scale. The WBGU report did not hold back: It aimed to show the urgent need for change in terms of sustainable development through the interplay of politics, economy, society and nature. The central message was: We need a "social contract for a Great Transformation", and it must be implemented by 2021. How is the report to be assessed today? We will summarise the positions of the WGBU report, cite its merits, and comment on them critically and constructively. Our approach examines the five main themes of the report: the global social contract; global governance using the example of the Paris Climate Agreement; acceptance by those involved and affected; the urgency of economic, political and social action; and the concept of the Great Transformation. In our critique, we suggest ways to constructively elaborate on the ideas laid out in the WBGU report, ideas that were not thought through to the end. Our focus lies particularly on how to deal with time and the concept of the Great Transformation. In doing so, we will also address the significance of technical advances, innovation and our own ignorance. The title of the report uses the term "Great Transformation" which acts as a leitmotif throughout. Put forth by Karl Polanyi (1941/44), this term, as used in the WBGU's parlance, is intended to address the far-reaching changes that a regulatory state would have to undertake, along with the participation of the global citizenry, in order to overcome the ecological crisis of the coming decades. In our conclusion, we argue that the idea of a uniformly planned and comprehensively attainable transformation of the current situation is inadequate. Instead, we have observed that different actors in different places have worked at different speeds not on a Great Transformation but on a multitude of social-ecological transformation processes. The effectiveness of such movements – which often emerge spontaneously – has grown to the present day. This gives us hope

Eine allgemeine Theorie der Bestände

Im vorliegenden Aufsatz wird ein Begriffskonzept entwickelt, das zum besseren Verständnis des Zusammenspiels der Dynamiken von Ökosystemen und Wirtschaft dient: das Konzept des Bestandes. Der Bestandsbegriff wird allgemein mengentheoretisch formuliert. Die zentrale Eigenschaft eines Bestandes liegt in seiner zeitlichen Dauerhaftigkeit. Damit eignen sich Bestände zur Abbildung von Einflüssen, die die Vergangenheit von Systemen auf deren Gegenwart ausübt, und damit zur Analyse von zeitlichen Entwicklungen. Da Beständigkeit eine Eigenschaft in der Zeit darstellt, ist das Konzept des Bestandes nicht spezifisch auf den Gegenstandsbereich einzelner wissenschaftlicher Disziplinen beschränkt und so für die interdisziplinäre Analyse geeignet. Der Begriff wird auf ökonomische und ökologische Beispiele angewandt und dabei auf stochastische Mengen verallgemeinert. Durch die Abgrenzung der Bestandsperspektive von einer Systemsicht kann die hierarchische Struktur realer ökologisch-ökonomischer Systeme analysiert werden. Die Theorie der Bestände stellt einen Baustein für die konzeptionellen Grundlagen der Ökologischen Ökonomie dar. --Dynamik,Beständigkeit,System,Zeitskalen,Population,Persistenz