Moral Hazards in Sustainability

Ivo De Gennaro; Ralf Lüfter; Robert Simon

doi:10.5771/9783748967859

Summary

The formulation of sustainability goals – implicitly or explicitly placed within the wider perspective of a “sustainable future” – is often characterised by a certain vagueness and arbitrariness. This allows for practices and outcomes which, although formally compliant with set objectives and benchmarks, generate misgivings as to how sustainable they truly are. The term “moral hazard”, widely used in economic discourse, is adopted here to encapsulate the decoupling between intended or declared objectives, on the one hand, and deviant actions with (nominally) undesired results, on the other. This volume addresses moral hazards in the context of sustainability research and policy from the economic, political, and ethical perspectives.
With contributions by Christian Arnsperger | Ivo De Gennaro | Giulia Isetti | Ralf Lüfter | Ugo Mattei | Eugene Nulman | Sören Schuster | Oliver Schlaudt | Robert Simon | Jenny Ufer

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Bibliographic data

Edition: 1/2026
Copyright Year: 2026
ISBN-Print: 978-3-7560-3740-7
ISBN-Online: 978-3-7489-6785-9
Publisher: Nomos, Baden-Baden
Series: Menschenwürde und Menschenrechte | Dignità umana e diritti umani | Human Dignity and Human Rights
Volume: 6
Language: English
Pages: 148
Product Type: Edited Book

1. Contents No access
1. References: No access
Authors:
1. 1. Introduction No access
2. 2. Moral Hazard and the “Newspeak” of Weak Sustainability No access
3. 3. Green Growth and the Risk of Magical Thinking No access
4. 4. Doughnut Economics and the Risk of Anthropo-Optimism No access
5. 5. Existential Economics and the Deeper Function of Capitalism No access
6. 6. The Capitalist Social-Existential Metabolism No access
7. 7. Towards Existential Ecological Economics No access
8. References No access
Authors:
1. Introduction No access
2. 1. Communicating climate change and averting possible moral hazards No access
3. 2. Navigating moral hazards: why critical thinking and response-ability matter in climate change communication No access
4. 3. The case study of Anthropos, Tyrann (Ödipus): Deconstructing moral hazards in climate change narratives through interdisciplinary and participatory theatre No access
5. 4. Conclusions and Future Directions No access
6. References No access
Authors:
1. 1. Premise No access
2. 2. Early Institutional Response to the Social Demand for Ecological Sustainability No access
3. 3. Neoliberal Reaction No access
4. 4. The Anti‑Law Movement No access
5. 5. Sustainability, Legal and Natural No access
6. 6. Captured No access
7. References No access
Authors:
1. 1. Introduction No access
2. 2. Methods No access
3. 3. Results No access
4. 4. Quantitative Results No access
5. 5. Discussion and Conclusion No access
6. References No access
Authors:
1. 1. Recycling is a technofix is a moral hazard No access
2. 2. Techno-fix reconsidered No access
3. 3. Technofix is real No access
4. 4. Recycling, a false promise No access
5. 5. Conceptual interlude: Anbau vs. Abbau and the Law of Technological Escalation No access
6. 6. Low Tech vs. High Tech No access
7. 7. Technofix? Sure! Moral Hazard? Of course! But Ideology? No access
8. References No access
Authors:
1. 1. Introduction No access
2. 2. Aristotle’s Natural Economy No access
3. 3. How Economics Became Chrematistics No access
4. 4. SDG 8 Between Legitimizations and Critiques No access
5. 5. Outlook No access
6. References No access
Authors:
1. 1. Introduction: The United Nations’ vision of sustainability: prosperity through technological progress and human dignity No access
2. 1. 2.1 Two concepts of person in Modernity No access
  2. 2.2 The transcendental concept of personhood No access
  3. 2.3 The functional concept of personhood No access
3. 3. Moral Hazard No access
4. References No access