Deliberate futures: precaution and progress in social choice of sustainable technology

Stirling, Andrew (2007) Deliberate futures: precaution and progress in social choice of sustainable technology. Sustainable Development, 15 (5). pp. 286-295. ISSN 0968-0802

Abstract

There is much high profile concern over apparent tensions between sustainability and precaution on the one hand, and `competitive innovation and `technological progress on the other. How can we balance risk with opportunity and public engagement with `sound science? The outcomes of such debates may undoubtedly be serious for particular technologies, but are there really grounds for concern over the implications for innovation in general? This paper argues that such anxieties often stem from impoverished understandings and strategic misrepresentations of the real nature of scientific creativity and technological possibilities. This can obscure possibilities for achieving more truly sustainable and socially deliberate technological futures.

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