It is often mistakenly thought that sustainability can be attained by a mix of technology and industry. Social efforts are thereby directed at promoting ideologically driven redistribution of resources and reorganisation of people to conform to what is thought to be sustainable.
This failure to lay an ethical foundation grounded on principles all but inevitably gives rise to conflict as partisans of competing and conflicting ideologies sink resources into fighting for their preferred model of sustainability. Such a fight is itself bound by limits of sustainability.
To determine these ethics is a matter of considering what it is we seek to sustain. Life is one answer, yet it is self evident that life has endured for many generations before the rise of humanity. Is sustaining life the only consideration? Quality of life appears to be an additional consideration. Indeed, humanity has expended considerable effort in endeavours beyond merely surviving.
The manner in which humanity survives and lives defines whether humanity thrives and how this impacts other life. It is this question we turn to when we seek sustainability. What does it mean for humanity to thrive?
It is not enough for any individual to live well in their lifetime while others live abused and neglected. Further, it is not enough for any generation to live well while depleting the resources needed for future generations to live at all. Sustainability is therefore necessarily generational.
