INTELLECTUAL SUSTAINABILITY: CHARACTERISTICS, AXES AND EXAMPLES - ENVIRONMENT - 2025

The intellectual sustainability concerns one of the key areas studied within the area of sustainability. It is part of the social axis of this branch of study, one of the three axes on which the theories of sustainable development are based, which seek a harmonious relationship with the planet.

Sustainable development is the idea that it is necessary to find a way to continue the progress of human societies without thereby deteriorating the environment or wiping out our planet's natural resources in the process. Therefore, its fundamental objective is to achieve the goals of the present without compromising the future of our species.

The three fundamental axes of the study of sustainability are economic, social and environmental. Within each one we can find other areas of study, such as intellectual sustainability, related to the adaptation of our way of thinking to other ideologies and ways of seeing the world, so present in modern societies.

characteristics

Phenomena such as immigration, brain drain, nomadism, travel, and the media make modern societies composed of people with very different beliefs, experiences, and ways of thinking.

Therefore, one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century is to ensure that very different people are able to live together in harmony.

Also related to cultural sustainability, this field of study is therefore in charge of understanding how to combine the different points of view within a modern society. In this way, it seeks to minimize the different conflicts that exist due to clashes between very different people.

On the other hand, intellectual sustainability also studies how to avoid that the brightest minds in one country have to go to another in search of employment or better opportunities. This is necessary because a country that continually loses its best citizens cannot have sustainable development.

Therefore, some of the topics that the study of intellectual sustainability deals with are the following:

- Brain drain.

- Emigration and immigration.

- Group conflicts.

- Racism and discrimination.

Axles

In most publications, three main axes are described that need to be studied in order to achieve sustainable development:

- An economic axis, related to the financial part of development.

- A social axis, which has to do with the necessary changes in social practices.

- An environmental axis, which affects the practices required to preserve the environment and the surroundings.

Each of these axes can in turn be divided into other smaller parts. For example, intellectual sustainability would be part of the social axis. However, two more axes have recently been added, thus leaving a model based on five areas. The two newest are as follows:

- Political axis, in charge of promoting forms of leadership in the countries that achieve a balance between productivity and sustainability.

- Cultural axis, related to the maintenance of traditional cultures while opening up to an increasingly globalized world. It is also closely related to intellectual sustainability.

Economic axis

Economic sustainability tries to integrate objectives of various kinds (economic, social and environmental) in such a way that the maximum possible well-being can be guaranteed for the greatest number of people. However, this well-being has to be achieved both in the present moment and in the future.

This economic axis seeks to remove the focus of development at all costs and put it on a development that can be maintained over time, but in no case seeks to paralyze the advance of science, the economy or society.

A society with a sustainable economy would be one in which the number of people and the goods they own are kept at a stable level. This level would have to be ecologically sustainable.

For this, it is necessary to promote both job creation and entrepreneurship attempts, rewarding small and medium-sized companies.

Social axis

The social axis is concerned with aspects related to a just, egalitarian and sustainable society. It has to do with areas such as education, employment, food and the possession of basic resources for all members of society.

This axis is responsible for removing the focus of the most aggressive development and without concern for the citizens of a country, to put it on their well-being. Therefore, it implies the creation of policies that help achieve this well-being.

On the other hand, it is also in charge of problems that may arise between different social groups; This is where intellectual sustainability comes into play.

Environmental axis

Probably what most people understand when they hear about sustainability, the environmental axis has to do with all those practices that seek to preserve the natural resources of our planet.

The creation of industries, the use of fossil fuels and non-renewable resources, and the excessive growth of the population have caused the environment to deteriorate excessively.

For this reason, it is necessary to adopt measures that manage to combine economic and social growth with ecological sustainability.

Political axis

Related to the policies and governments of a country, the political axis tries to create regulations that serve to achieve the objectives proposed in other areas.

For this, it must manage to combine growth with sustainability through the creation of policies based on rationality and changes in the reality of each country.

Cultural axis

Cultural sustainability favors diversity and respect for local, national and international cultural manifestations. This axis is fundamental because a person's culture tends to largely determine their way of thinking and behaving.

Therefore, this axis has to do with issues such as creativity, critical knowledge, diversity and conflicts between people with different experiences and ways of seeing life. This is where the second part of intellectual sustainability comes into play.

Examples of intellectual sustainability

Two examples of topics studied for intellectual sustainability are described below:

- In some modern countries, due to economic and social conditions, there is a constant brain drain in which the best thinkers and researchers must migrate in search of better opportunities. Intellectual sustainability must study how to avoid this, to prevent the country's technical level from declining over time.

- In multicultural countries, it is very difficult to avoid conflicts related to discrimination. Intellectual sustainability tries to avoid this type of results to ensure a harmonious coexistence.

References

1. What are the Axes of Sustainability? Most Relevant Features ”in: Life Persona. Retrieved on: March 31, 2018 from Life Persona: lifepersona.com.
2. "Sustainability" in: Global Closure Systems. Retrieved on: March 31, 2018 from Global Closure Systems: gcs.com.
3. "Cultural sustainability" in: Wikipedia. Retrieved on: March 31, 2018 from Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org.
4. "Axes of sustainability" in: Calameo. Retrieved on: March 31, 2018 from Calameo: es.calameo.com.
5. "Intellectual sustainability" in: Prezi. Retrieved on: March 31, 2018 from Prezi: prezi.com.