Sustainable Economic Development, a Necessity of the 21st Century

Abstract

Sustainability is mostly perceived as the combination of environmental, social and economic performance; while still remain difficulties in defining sustainable economic development. Today, the human needs of many people are not met, and by the same time the ability of future generations to meet their needs is being compromised. It is because this that sustainable development has raised as a concept, affected by the need to offer people a kind of development which can meet the needs of the present without compromising the capacity of future generations to meet theirs. Economic growth may result in an improvement in the standard of living related to a small proportion of the population whilst the majority of the population remains poor. It is how the economic growth is distributed amongst the population that determines the level of development. The concept of sustainable development has become a widely recognized goal for human society of the 21st century. In this research it is analyzed the why and how has emerged the concept of sustainable development; how should it really be conceptualized and what should be done in order to achieve it.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n10p93