Title: Deconstruction of sustainable development discourses: avoiding skepticism pitfalls with a postmodern perspective

Authors: Sina Shokoohyar; Sajjad Shokohyar; Vahid Ghomi; Amirsalar Jafari Gorizi

Addresses: Department of Computing and Decision Sciences, Stillman School of Business, Seton Hall University, South Orange, New Jersey, 07079, USA ' Department of Management, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran ' School of Business, Pennsylvania State University, Mont Alto, PA, USA ' American University, Washington, DC, USA

Abstract: Although many countries have joined under the umbrella of sustainable development and its goals, two unsolved issues have remained: the ambiguity in its definition and the skepticism about it. In this paper, for understanding the roots of skepticism, by adopting a postmodern approach to the related discourses, the footprint of forming a metanarrative was seen. To avoid the pitfalls, deconstruction suggests that that the first thing to do is to acknowledge the ambiguity of that definition that comes from the inefficiency of using the binary oppositions - the needs and ambitions, and the present and future generations - and holding to its constructive narrative; limitation. The second step is creating a more engaging narrative of sustainable development. Talking about "a climate crisis with force and fury" is the new narrative that President Biden has started. He added that "with unity, we can confront the climate crisis with American jobs and ingenuity."

Keywords: sustainability; sustainable development; climate change; postmodernism; poststructuralism; deconstruction; skepticism.

DOI: 10.1504/WRSTSD.2023.131934

World Review of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, 2023 Vol.19 No.3, pp.285 - 300

Received: 15 Mar 2021
Accepted: 23 Aug 2021
Published online: 05 Jul 2023 *

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