Indigenous and Western Worldviews: The Notion of Value and Sustainability Flashcards
What is Business Sustainability?
The concept that businesses should create wealth and improve people’s lives without compromising the health and wealth of future generations. The long-term goal is thriving societies and ecosystems.
Colonialism
Is the subjugation of one people to another, involving political and economic control over a dependent territory.
Capitalism
Is an economic system based on the private ownership of property and business with the goal of profit maximization for the owners.
Problems with the shareholder view
Focuses exclusively on maximising shareholder return.
Relationality…
is KEY, referring to the relationship between all things and the strength of these relationships.
Intergenerational thinking
Considers the impact of actions on past and future generations.
Indigenous knowledge
Is holistic, relational, local, and contextualised.
Built over generations through observation, lived experiences, oral histories, and community approaches.
Systematic knowledge of planting, hunting, weather and climate, environmental conditions, medicine and health care, navigation and engineering.
Western perspectives on value
are based on neoclassical economics, where the value of something is determined by market forces and the price paid.
Indigenous perspectives on value
The indigenous emphasize values like consensus-based decision-making, storytelling, relationship building, and reciprocity.
Why is there a need to question the concept of “value creation” in a society structured around colonialism and capitalism
Much of what is called “value creation” actually involves extracting value from one group or place to benefit others
Indigenisation:
Adding or re-integrating Indigenous elements into systems and ways of thinking.
Decolonisation
Removing or undoing the colonial elements embedded within systems and ways of thinking.
Two-eyed seeing
A valuable approach, allowing us to move between Indigenous and Western knowledge and worldviews, recognising the merits of both.
The social foundation
Encompasses the minimum social standards needed for a just and equitable society
Doughnut Economics Combines
The planetary boundaries and social foundation into a single framework.
Life Cycle Thinking
Involves considering the environmental and social impacts of a product or service throughout its entire life cycle
Conceptual Life Cycle Mapping
A qualitative method for identifying potential impacts and opportunities for improvement
Lifecycle Mapping involves
Mapping the key stages of a product’s life cycle, from raw material extraction to disposal, and considering the social and environmental issues associated with each stage.
Businesses can use life cycle thinking to make more sustainable decisions by:
o Reducing impacts: Identifying and minimizing negative social and environmental impacts at each stage.
o Shifting to circularity: Exploring opportunities for reuse, recycling, and repurposing to keep materials in use for longer.
o Engaging with stakeholders: Consulting with communities and other stakeholders to understand their perspectives and concerns.
Traditional knowledge
Offers valuable insights for sustainability that non-Indigenous people can learn from.
This includes understanding humanity’s place in the web of life and our responsibilities toward our relatives.
Transitioning from a shareholder view to a systems view starts with
Acknowledging roles within nested systems , bounded by and embedded within environmental, social, and economic system.
Shifting from a compliance mentality of minimizing footprints to missions in relation to broader societal and planetary challenges
Worldviews
A worldview can pertain to an individual, group, or society. Overall, a
worldview is a set of beliefs and values that are honoured and withheld
by a number of people.
Indigenous worldview
Spiritually oriented society
There can be many truths, dependent upon individual experiences.
Operate in a state of relatedness
Land is a sacred gift from the creator.
Time is non-linear and cyclical in nature (Seasons).
Comfortability is measured by quality of ones relationships with others.
Human beings are not the most important
Amassing wealth is important for the community.
Western World View
Scientific, Skeptical.
There is only one science based or Western law styled truth.
Compartmentalized society.
The land and its resources should be available for development/extraction for human benefit.
Time is linear and future orientated (months, days, years)
Comfortability is related to success and achieving ones goals
Amassing wealth is for personal gain.
Western Knowledge is rooted in modern challenges such as
○ Colonialism
○ Capitalism
○ Consumerism
Value
destruction
Result of a hypergrowth exit mindset, destroying societal wellbeing due to its laser focus on increasing socially
constructed exit value above all else.
A serious pursuit of sustainable development for all will entail:
Indigenization
Decolonization
