Posted By Halina Ward
on 16 July, 2010
The Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, has just made a strong statement on the link between democracy and sustainable development in an article titled “Rapid and sustainable development – The kernel in Việt Nam’s socio-economic development strategy.“
Naturally, Vietnam’s democracy is a socialist one, which makes the express commitment to link democracy to sustainable development somehow all the more interesting. Liberal democracies in other parts of the world might also reflect on this.
The particular emphasis on expanding ‘direct democracy’, linked as it is to a stern reference to ‘discipline and …
Posted By Halina Ward
on 15 July, 2010
FDSD Vice-Chair Ian Christie and I headed to the home of former trustee Sir Geoffrey Chandler and his wife Lucy for lunch yesterday. And our conversation turned to intergenerational thinking, and to the challenges of integrating long-termism and regard for future generations into political democracy.
Sustainable development has long been inextricably linked to the idea of ‘intergenerational equity’, that is, fairness as between generations alive today and those yet to be born, whom philosopher and green party politician Rupert Read dubs ‘future people’.
The underlying challenge is one which we and our co-signatories identified in an open letter …
