Original scientific paper
Energy Crisis or Development Crisis – an Outline of Dilemmas
Katarina Tomaševski
; Institut za društvena istraživanja, Zagreb
Abstract
Frequent considerations of the energy crisis confine themselves to technical-technological approach in designing solutions. The energy crisis is being treated as a factor constraining the future social development, but not as a matter of societal option. The article pleads for a change within the approach to the problem: it emphasizes that energy crisis is only one dimension of the crisis of the dominant development pattern, therefore it is also an obstacle for its future application for larger part of the world. Accordingly, the assertion of energy crisis being a cause of the current crisis is supported by an additional one stating that energy crisis is at the same time a consequence of the practiced, widely spread, model of development based on fostering economic growth and consumerism. Restrictive policies aimed at suppression of the consequences of energy crisis remain within the existing development strategy, not endevouring to change it by seeking qualitatively different solutions.
The article includes examples from development plans which illustrate the introductory assertion of the entire technological development, including energy policy, being outside of the realm of social preconditions, societal option and social implications. As human needs are also subjected to the dominant growth imperative, while development plans generally adhere to quantitative dimensions in planning, conflicts of human needs and situations of deprivation (of unsatisfied needs) are not dealt with within discussions concerning solutions for the energy crisis.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
155866
URI
Publication date:
31.12.1982.
Visits: 1.750 *