Sustainable Policy vs. Utilitarian/Conservation Ethic
One can find a lot of similarities between the modern day sustainable policy and the utilitarian/conservation ethic of the 1800s. Broadly, both were formulated with the intent to conserve the nature, protect the forests and safeguard the flora and fauna. However, digging deep, it can be found that the scope of these movements which are almost 200 years apart are vastly different, even though the overall intention remains the same.
One of the major reasons behind utilitarianism was the rapid industrialization and population growth witnessed during the 1800s in many parts of the world. Utilitarianism proclaims doing the right things for the benefit of the largest amount of population . During this phase of rapid industrialization, concerns arose on the dangers of exploiting the nature through destruction and pollution. People realized the need to protect the natural resources and called for laws and regulations to avoid the misuse of nature and its resources like pastures, meadows, forests, lakes and rivers. The ideas revolved around democratic and responsible way of using nature for the benefit of the larger sections of the population.
But, as we know, none of these movements were strong enough to prevent the destruction to the nature which continued unabated and today we are living in the constant fear of global warming, climate change, rising sea level, wild hurricanes, blazing summers and pounding rains. The scope of the latest version of the sustainable policy is very vast and pin points towards areas like climate neutrality, greenhouse gas emissions, region specific building codes, water conservation (both indoor and outdoor), outside gross area, solid waste management, potable and recycled water, renewable energy, and many more. As can be seen, today’s sustainable policy may be similar to utilitarian ethic, but the scope is vastly different and touches upon multiple areas which were not even in existence when the Utilitarian ethic was coined.
Bibliography
Zgheib, Philippe W. 2014. Business Ethics and Diversity in the Modern Workplace. November 30. Accessed March 10, 2016. https://books.google.co.in/books?id=k6SXBgAAQBAJ&pg=PA166&lpg=PA166&dq=utilitarianism+ethics+of+the+1800s+in+environment&source=bl&ots=B6MvKK8aRV&sig=4z_WgVOQNX9kb3RqrD8-5I0YrDs&hl=en&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0ahUKEwj0hID2wbbLAhVNHI4KHYDFD80Q6AEIKDAC#v=onepage&q=ut.
