Re-emphasizing sustainable development — The concept of ‘Evolutionability’

The principle of ‘sustainable development’ is now 15-year-old. There are a lot of definitions and models for its explanation — ranging from ‘triangles’ and ‘prisms’ to ‘eggs’ — but still its sense is diffuse. Moreover, important aspects like equity are not sufficiently taken into account. The following article takes a critical look on ‘sustainable development’. It shows logical, systemic, philosophic and ethic reasons for the re-development of substantial parts of the principle of sustainability. Based on the proposed Principle of Good Heritage it provides a rough outline of a future Concept of Evolutionability, comprising a first tentative for a definition of ‘evolutionable development’, aiming at achieving a more appropriate and more workable mainstream view of sustainability.