On Naturally Unsustainable and Artificially Sustainable Development

The author presents the hypothesis that in the absence of human interference, i.e. in natural conditions, development takes place spontaneously and is basically unsustainable, and it becomes sustainable only due to anthropogenic factors, i.e. artificially. Sustainable development takes place primarily in the sociosphere. People began to balance development only when they realized that rapid economic development was reaching a critical moment because of the rapid exhaustion of fossil and non-fossil raw material resources and unlimited overconsumption. This was initially ignored. It took several decades before it was taken seriously. Then the idea of controlled, or sustainable, development appeared. Since then, actions have been taken to reduce various categories of imbalances in an increasing number of areas of activity. Since then, the idea of sustainable development has become fashionable, important and lucrative, although utopian, because sustainable development is seen as a panacea for crises, inequalities and social contradictions. The publications of Donella Meadows (Limits to growth. A Report for the Club of Rome's Project on the Predicament of Mankind), of Ernst U. v. Weizäcker (Wir sind dran. Was wir ändern müssen, wenn wir bleiben wollen), and of Gaya Herrington, (Five Insights for Avoiding Global Collapse) contributed significantly to the implementation of this idea. They indicate that appropriate actions taken by 2040 will determine the future fate of humanity. To prove the validity of his hypothesis, the author used some publications on 17 general goals and 169 tasks.