Building sustainable future - emphasizing the role of culture, values and relationships

The paper deals with the idea of sustainable development (SD) and proposes some heterodox ways of its fulfilment. SD, being undoubtedly one of the most significant concepts that has revolutionized human perception of the world, has brought a new approach to understanding of our place and role in the relentlessly fast changing world. However, its prevalent presence on political agenda, business strategy and in academic discourse has not been translated into actions that would have brought a meaningful change to the world deteriorating environmental situation and increasing welfare inequality. The paper questions the traditional paradigm of dealing with the environmental and civilizational problems of the contemporary world based on the growth-oriented development and puts forward the idea that culture, values and relationships provide much more comprehensive and coherent perspective instead. This inherently interdisciplinary approach is built on understanding of the real roots of the economic, social and environmental predicament of the mankind: decline in ethics, undermining social ties, economic imperialism and maximization of profit generated by market economy. For these, culture, values and relationships make a heterodox paradigm for implementation of the idea of sustainable development. Culture has become largely unappreciated by economists for most of the history of economic thought. In the world of decreasing natural resources and room for people on the one hand and expansion of ideas, politics and economies on the other, the notions of culture has acquired increasing importance. As the world becomes 'smaller' due to economic, political and cultural globalization, people have to bridge the differences in the very same areas to find some common ground and ensure progress to the whole mankind. The significance of values particularly is demonstrated in times economic and social turmoil. In search causes of economic downturns, including the recent to have begun in 2007, political and economic decision makers tend to primarily focus on the role of economic and financial measures and oversee the fact that the economic instability is also the result of negative occurrences beyond the economic sphere, i.e. in the area of values. Development, unsupported with ethics and morals, goes astray sooner or later. These, hence, become a critical resource not only to a sound economy but also society and environment. Finally, relationships constitute another critical economic and social resource of the process of sustainable development. Being the essence of the SD concept, which emphasizes care and responsibility, a sense of fairness, and belonging to nature, it further makes a measure protecting against the odds of economic downturns since these are frequently rooted in the decline of values and human relationships.