Sustainable Institutions: How to Secure Values

• Published in: The journal of ethics Vol. 28; no. 2; pp. 287 - 308
• Main Author: Hindriks, Frank
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01-06-2024; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Education; Ethics; History of Philosophy; Metaphysics; Moral Philosophy; Philosophy; Political Philosophy; Social Philosophy; Social sustainability; Society; Sustainable development; Justice; Social norm; Social sustainability; Sustainability; Value; Institution; Perceived fairness; Resilience; Social practice
• ISSN: 1382-4554; 1572-8609
• DOI: 10.1007/s10892-023-09466-1

Social sustainability plays a prominent role in the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals, but a proper analysis of the concept is still lacking. According to a widespread conception, a system is sustainable when it is preserved or developed in a robust manner. I argue, however, that social sustainability is best understood in explicitly normative terms. Formulating suitable development goals requires a conception of the kind of society that is worth sustaining. I propose that, for a system to be socially sustainable is for it to secure a range of values, including justice. Furthermore, I argue that social sustainability is first and foremost a property of institutions. I go on to ask what it takes for an institution to secure values and why justice is so important for institutions. The answers culminate in a social sustainability framework, which explains why making institutions more sustainable is so challenging.