What is
"Humane Sustainable Culture"?
AS A VISION AND IDEAL it is really very simple. Here are some quick definitions:
- A good life for all life that can be passed on to everyone's great,
great ... grandchildren
- A culture (or society) that is meaningful and satisfying to its members
today and that does not need to destroy or deplete its environment in order
to be that way.
Yet as simple and almost universally appealing as this vision is,
- our present global society is, by these definitions, neither humane
nor sustainable
- there is no broad understanding or consensus on how to get from where
we are to a humane and sustainable way of life.
Context Institute exists to help bridge this gap and has the mission to
"serve as an effective catalyst for signficant cultural change toward
a humane and sustainable world."
When we began our work in 1979, few people thought in terms of "sustainability,"
much less "humane sustainable culture." Today the concept of "sustainable
development" has become commonplace in the policy discussions of international
bodies like the UN and many national governments
(e.g. National Green Plans,
President's Council
on Sustainable Development, US Dept of Energy's Center
For Excellence in Sustainable Development [headed by William
Becker, one of the authors in the first issue of IN CONTEXT]).
Yet there remains much to be done. We intend to keep "pushing the envelope"
and exploring the growing edge of what, over the next few decades, just
could be the worldwide emergence of a humane and sustainable future.
For more on how we approach "humane sustainable culture," "sustainability,"
"sustainable development," and "the sustainability movement,"
please look at the following:
And, of course, all of the issues of IN CONTEXT:
A Quarterly of Humane Sustainable Culture.
All contents copyright (c)1996 by Context Institute,
all rights reserved.
Please send comments to webmaster
Last Updated 2 September 1996.
URL: http://www.context.org/ICLIB/DEFS/hsc.htm
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