Critical Approaches to the Concept of Sustainable Development

Abstract

It has been observed that while living in harmony with nature on earth until the industrial revolution, with the industrial production and consumption society formed after the industrial revolution, humanity has started to dominate nature more and the damage caused to nature has increased. Economic growth, contrary to expectations, increasing inequality in the distribution of income, the impoverishment of the broad masses of the natural environment in the emergence of problems such as destruction of natural resources, growth and development of the concept of sustainable development has revealed the new concept. Sustainable development suggests that both economic development can continue and the ecological system can be protected; the contradiction between the environment and development will disappear. The concept of sustainable development has been considered to be able to solve many country problems since its first appearance, and has been applied to many fields such as economics, politics, the environment and social culture. In fact, there are many aspects of the concept of sustainable development that are open to criticism. The aim of this study is to address the criticisms brought to the concept with a collective perspective. For this purpose, the criticisms brought to the concept of sustainable development based on the previous studies conducted on the subject were examined. It is thought that the study will contribute to the literature by eliminating the lack of a critical perspective on sustainable development in this way.