Sustainable Production System: Eco-development versus Sustainable Development

Wealth is no longer just an ability to live well in a world shaped by human activities. It is also an ability to push back or defer the limits of a world in biological and climatic closure. This book examines the theoretical conflicts and the power plays which often oppose the socio-political and technical-financial practices of recognition of what intervenes in the production of this wealth – i.e. of what has value. It lays down the principles of a contributory modeling method, allowing debates around the concept of development; the building of scenarios; the negotiation of their implementation; and a cross-sectoral reading of their social, ecological and economic costs. This method, called Dynamic Modeling of Cost Systems, is based on a territorial communication device which articulates political, contractual and accounting innovations using deliberative and normative digital tools. It combines different local representations of value, in order to approach wealth through an integrated analysis of micro-, meso- and macro- issues.

Table of Contents:
Introduction vii Chapter 1. Economics and Imbalances 1 1.1. Capturing power 1 1.1.1. From eco-development to sustainable development 2 1.1.2. Interest and limits of the decoupling concept 10 1.2. Systemic approach to the economy 19 1.2.1. Nature and structure of productive capital 21 1.2.2. Spaces and temporalities of productive phenomena 29 1.3. Conclusion 38 Chapter 2. Information Structures Production 41 2.1. The value chain: an outdated representation 41 2.1.1. Toward a functional economy 42 2.1.2. Valuing multifunctional production 50 2.2. Reinventing performance 58 2.2.1. Information socioeconomy 59 2.2.2. Preserving the functional heritage 67 2.3. Conclusion 72 Chapter 3. Communication Renews Rationalities 75 3.1. From agent to actor 75 3.1.1. Decompartmentalizing the economic space 76 3.1.2. Toward a cooperative transaction society 84 3.2. To discuss is to produce 89 3.2.1. Toward a hermeneutical and contributory web 91 3.2.2. A contributory platform for political economy 100 3.3. Conclusion 107 Chapter 4. Accounting: The Figure in Dialogue 109 4.1. Performance systems 109 4.1.1. Coupling between functional ecosystems 111 4.1.2. Multiscalar and cross-sectoral scenarios 123 4.2. Cost systems 133 4.2.1. Internalization and territorialization 134 4.2.2. Structuring the micro–macro accounting space 142 4.3. Conclusion 154 Chapter 5. Contractualizing: The Value in Act 157 5.1. Restructuring the transactional space 157 5.1.1. Levels of representation and materiality 159 5.1.2. Intangible assets and performance contract 166 5.2. Taking the measure of the territorial heritage 178 5.2.1. An irreducible interface between performance and profitability 179 5.2.2. Territorial informative and cognitive assessment 186 5.3. Conclusion 194 Chapter 6. Development, Changing the Compass and the Map 197 6.1. Dynamic Modeling of Cost Systems 197 6.1.1. Linking shared representations and activity costs 199 6.1.2. Relative growth and strategic alignment 207 6.2. Social value of acceleration 219 6.2.1. Entropy, wealth and time 221 6.2.2. Turning toward sustainability 229 6.3. Conclusion 241 Conclusion 245 Postface 255 References 259 Index 281

About the Author :
Clément Morlat holds a PhD in Economics. Before his present vocation of addressing ecological economics, he studied biology, environmental sciences and management. Currently, he works on sustainable territorial governance, accounting and collective representation of values. In this work, he promotes a contributory and deliberative use of digital tools.