Revising the Ontological Status of Traditional Modes of Living: the concepts and their practical consequences in Sustainability issues in China, Kenya, Colombia and Sweden

Abstract We inhabit a world dominated by aspects of Modernity which has rejected traditions as an aid to development in favour of a Rationalism that since the Enlightenment has emphasised a "politics of reason" centred... [ view full abstract ]

Abstract

We inhabit a world dominated by aspects of Modernity which has rejected traditions as an aid to development in favour of a Rationalism that since the Enlightenment has emphasised a "politics of reason" centred upon rational choice and utilitarianism to underpin the neoclassical economic syntheses that today direct development. This paper considers that Modernity and its derivatives are a direct cause of unsustainable forms of development. To overcome such problematics, the epistemic analysis of Michel Foucault and the Modes of Existence study of Bruno Latour are used to reject Modernity, Rationalism and the neoclassical economic synthesis in favour of a pragmatic empiricism. After summarising the scientific justification for this radical approach, this paper revises the status of enduring traditions to that of ontologically distinct Modes of Existence that are fully independent of Modernity and its consequential economic theories and practices. By linking those aspects of traditions that resonate well with the science identified in this paper, it becomes possible to identify, strengthen and use traditions to support everyday sustainable activities that engage local communities with their own, enhanced concepts and terminology to avoid the technical jargon and abstractions of sustainability. In addition, this kind of transition in effect heralds a new civilisation and that has wide implications for all, including urban communities. Indeed it is only by revising the generic goals and processes of development for all that the full utility of the approach taken in this paper can be beneficial for those groups now marginalised by Modernity. Some of the practical consequences of the approach are explored in this paper which uses short case studies  from Colombia, Kenya, China and Sweden respectively