The Sustainability Of The Systems
Everyone wants to protect what they love. People are different, and so are their needs and ambitions. Some want to protect limitlessly while others are self-serving; some affect society and may even lose who they are while pursuing selflessness all the way. Yet, some are the total opposite; they will assert who they are, they know what they want, and they will stop at nothing to get it. Those are mostly labelled narcissists or adopters of the Machiavellian concept that ‘the end justifies the means.’ The greed, envy, ambition, and vicious contrasts manifesting in the latter repel the former.
Nonetheless, people are under no obligation to change who they are because who they are is a product that resulted from complicated aspects which are crucial to take into consideration. Therefore, the compromise of finding balance to co-exist in the present for the future and holding onto the past allows the individual to grow. Nevertheless, there are boundaries and limitations to every limitless universality which in this case is the ‘social contract.’ The social contract consists of the individual’s surroundings, society, and system and what is collectively considered appropriate conduct towards them. Hence, the social contract should be maintained and preserved to ensure that the individual stays true to who they are.
This entails that a preservation method of sustainability should be applied to maintain the social contract. Thus, societies seek sustainability which is the means to meet the needs of the present without in turn compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. Humans should be conscientious of ecology, society, and the future in all possible aspects that they could possibly consider, because sustainability improves the quality of life, protects the ecosystem, and preserves the natural resources for future generations on different levels: human, social, economic, and environmental.
The First Level: Human Sustainability
Human sustainability is to preserve human capital by maintaining the well-being of individuals. Hence, we maintain the health and educational systems. A healthy human with access to services and well-balanced nutrition with a capacity for knowledge balances the growing system.
The Second Level: Social Sustainability
Social sustainability is to preserve social capital through investment and maintaining services to accommodate larger views of the world to consider communities, cultures, and globalisation. This entails the responsibility to preserve future generations and to acknowledge that what we do can have an impact on everything around us, including others and the world.
The Third Level: Economic Sustainability
Economic sustainability is keeping the capital intact by improving the standard of living that reflects social equality. Economic stability allows the individual to better themselves as well as their standard of living and to help others, which in turn will pave the way for a better and safer society.
The Fourth Level: Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability is to improve human welfare through the protection of natural capital. Environmental sustainability is when humans ensure that the needs of the population are met without the risk of compromising the needs of future generations.
In conclusion, the four levels of sustainability, human, social, economic, and environmental, guide individuals to look beyond their own personal gains to better their surroundings and benefit the greater good of their environment and society which will ultimately lead to their own betterment through maintaining the social contract that is manifested in their surroundings, society, and system setting rules for acceptable conduct.
