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The challenge of sustainable development can be approached from different angles. In this essay it is argued that one also needs to examine the present close to monopoly position of neoclassical economic theory at university departments of economics in many parts of the world. An open debate is needed about paradigms in economics as well as ideological orientations.An alternative to neoclassical theory is outlined where individuals and organizations are regarded as political actors, each guided by an ideological orientation or mission. Reference is made to the 17 UN sustainable development goals suggesting that impacts need to be seen in multidimensional terms and an alternative definition of economics as "multidimensional management of limited resources in a democratic society" is proposed. It is argued that economics need to move away from its technocracy-oriented tendencies to democracy-oriented approaches. This is exemplified by a move away from neoclassical Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to Positional Analysis as approach to decision-making and sustainability assessment.

International audience ; The challenge of sustainable development can be approached from different angles. In this essay it is argued that one also needs to examine the present close to monopoly position of neoclassical economic theory at university departments of economics in many parts of the world. An open debate is needed about paradigms in economics as well as ideological orientations.An alternative to neoclassical theory is outlined where individuals and organizations are regarded as political actors, each guided by an ideological orientation or mission. Reference is made to the 17 UN sustainable development goals suggesting that impacts need to be seen in multidimensional terms and an alternative definition of economics as "multidimensional management of limited resources in a democratic society" is proposed. It is argued that economics need to move away from its technocracy-oriented tendencies to democracy-oriented approaches. This is exemplified by a move away from neoclassical Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) to Positional Analysis as approach to decision-making and sustainability assessment.

Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- Democracy as a lead concept in dealing with sustainable development / Peter Söderbaum -- Fundamentals of sustainability economics and positional analysis / Peter Söderbaum -- Mainstream economics and alternative perspectives in a political power game / Peter Söderbaum -- Positional analysis as an approach to decision-making, accounting and democracy / Peter Söderbaum -- On the need for broadening out and opening up accounting / Judy Brown -- Positional analysis in relation to other pluralistic accounting practices / Judy Brown -- Sustainability, ethics, and democracy: a pluralistic approach to the navigation of disagreements / Malgorzata Dereniowska -- Positional analysis and practical ethics / Malgorzata Dereniowska -- Democracy, sustainability and positional analysis : an interview with Peter Söderbaum (with introduction by Judy Brown) -- Philosophy, ethics and positional analysis : an interview with Peter Söderbaum (with introduction by Malgorzata Dereniowska) -- Appendix: the early history of positional analysis / Peter Söderbaum -- Index

This paper discusses the concept of trade-off analysis as an alternative to cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in socio-technical decisions. The concept of trade-off analysis is not new, but increasing dissatisfaction with CBA as the centerpiece of decision analysis and concerns for Rawlsian equity warrant its reintroduction into decision-making. As a decision-support tool, trade-off analysis [1] allows decision-makers to avoid monetizing and aggregating non-monetary factors over time; [2] invites the involvement of stakeholders into policy debates since there is greater transparency as to who benefits and who is harmed by a particular policy; [3] enables analysts to undertake a comparative analysis of alternatives over time; and [4] takes into account the important role of technological change in shaping the state and performance of a system. In addition, a revised Rawlsian approach to incorporating equity and environmental considerations into decision-making is advocated as a way of promoting sustainable development. While the proposed framework has yet to be applied on a wide scale, the authors believe it approximates the way that decisions are actually made in the political system and holds the potential to assist with decision-making for sustainable development in a broad variety of contexts.

This paper discusses the concept of trade-off analysis as an alternative to cost-benefit analysis (CBA) in socio-technical decisions. The concept of trade-off analysis is not new, but increasing dissatisfaction with CBA as the centerpiece of decision analysis and concerns for Rawlsian equity warrant its reintroduction into decision-making. As a decision-support tool, trade-off analysis [1] allows decision-makers to avoid monetizing and aggregating non-monetary factors over time; [2] invites the involvement of stakeholders into policy debates since there is greater transparency as to who benefits and who is harmed by a particular policy; [3] enables analysts to undertake a comparative analysis of alternatives over time; and [4] takes into account the important role of technological change in shaping the state and performance of a system. In addition, a revised Rawlsian approach to incorporating equity and environmental considerations into decision-making is advocated as a way of promoting sustainable development. While the proposed framework has yet to be applied on a wide scale, the authors believe it approximates the way that decisions are actually made in the political system and holds the potential to assist with decision-making for sustainable development in a broad variety of contexts.