So, how do the SDGs map onto the Daly & Meadows model? Here's a first approximation ...
Wellbeing – is the Ultimate End – happiness, fulfillment & enlightenment – to be achieved through ethics
Goals: – ?3: Good Health and Well-Being
Human and Social Capital – are the Intermediate Ends – health & wealth, knowledge, leisure & mobility, consumer goods – to be achieved through the political economy
Goals: 1: No Poverty 2: Zero Hunger ?3: Good Health and Well-Being 4: Quality Education 5: Gender Equality 10: Reduced Inequalities 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities 12: Responsible Consumption and Production 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions 17: Partnerships for the Goals
Built and Human Capital – are the Intermediate Means – Manufacturing & infrastructure work, tools & materials – to be achieved through science & technology
Goals: 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure
Natural Capital – provides the Ultimate Means – solar energy, natural cycles and systems, biological resources & minerals
Goals: 6: Clean Water and Sanitation 7: Affordable and Clean Energy 13: Climate (change) 14: Life Below Water 15: Life on Land
In a way these layers resemble the Stockholm wedding cake, but with the goals distributed differently. The cake was:
Partnership Goal 17
Economic Goals 8 9 10 12
Social Goals 1 2 3 4 5 7 11 16
Biosphere Goals 6 13 14 15
But Daly / Meadows is (in this view):
Wellbeing Goals ?3
Human and Social Capital Goals 1 2 ?3 4 5 10 11 12 16 17
Built and Human Capital Goals 8 9
Natural Capital Goals 6 7 13 14 15
The way I have constructed this illustrates how unbalanced the goals are with their strong focus on enhancing human and social justice, and their relative neglect (in Daly / Meadows terms) of the point of life. It's as though the authors of the goals focus on making things a bit less worse in material terms for a lot of people – and that's it.
Of course, there are a lot of people whose lives need to be less worse than they are now, so that is understandable as a priority. But that's not everything ...
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