Research Article

Deliberate futures: precaution and progress in social choice of sustainable technology

  1. Andy Stirling*

Article first published online: 19 SEP 2007

DOI: 10.1002/sd.347

Issue

Sustainable Development

Sustainable Development

Special Issue: Research into policy: current issues and challenges for sustainable development; Guest Editors: Prof. Malcolm Eames, BRESE, Brunel Business School, Brunel University, UK and Kate McGeevor, Policy Studies Institute, UK

Volume 15, Issue 5, pages 286–295, September/October 2007

Additional Information

How to Cite

Stirling, A. (2007), Deliberate futures: precaution and progress in social choice of sustainable technology. Sust. Dev., 15: 286–295. doi: 10.1002/sd.347

Author Information

  1. SPRU, University of Sussex, UK

*Research Director, SPRU (Science and Technology Policy Research), University of Sussex, Freeman Centre, Falmer, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 9QE, UK

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 19 SEP 2007
  2. Article first published online: 19 SEP 2007
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 20 MAR 2007
  4. Manuscript Revised: 27 NOV 2006
  5. Manuscript Received: 22 AUG 2006

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Keywords:

  • sustainability;
  • precaution;
  • participation;
  • innovation policy;
  • technological progress

Abstract

There is much high profile concern over apparent tensions between sustainability and precaution on the one hand, and ‘competitive innovation’ and ‘technological progress’ on the other. How can we balance risk with opportunity and public engagement with ‘sound science’? The outcomes of such debates may undoubtedly be serious for particular technologies, but are there really grounds for concern over the implications for innovation in general? This paper argues that such anxieties often stem from impoverished understandings and strategic misrepresentations of the real nature of scientific creativity and technological possibilities. This can obscure possibilities for achieving more truly sustainable and socially deliberate technological futures. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.

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