John B. Cobb 
Sustainability 
Economics, Ecology, and Justice

Can a livable society also be sustainable? How can we move beyond anthropocentrism without surrendering humanity’s unique contribution to the globe? What of the contradictions conservative economics seems to reveal in so-called liberal approaches to economics and ecology? Does Christianity have anything to say about living in a world of limits?

In ‘Sustainability’, John Cobb argues that reflections on ecological issues inevitably raise religious questions as well. Admittedly, traditional Christian teaching to subdue the earth had contributed to the mindset responsible for the crisis we are facing today. But Christianity can contribute to the discussion of how to keep the planet from ecological disaster. For one thing, Christianity can keep ecological issues closely tied to those of social justice — a necessity for a sustainable society. Christianity can also make clear the need for individual change of heart (conversion) that is a prerequisite to real social and economic change.

As the Earth Summit testified, our world stands in need of new visions, to nurture new ways of integrating its human, mineral, animal, vegetable, and energy components. ‘Sustainability’ is John Cobb at his best . . . timely, incisive, and vigorous.

About the author

John B. Cobb, Jr. is an American theologian, philosopher, and environmentalist. Described by historian Gary Dorrien as one of the two most important North American theologians of the twentieth century, Cobb is the preeminent scholar in the field of process philosophy and process theology, and the author of more than fifty books. In 2014, he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Cobb is a founding co-director of the Center for Process Studies and Professor Emeritus of Claremont School of Theology and Claremont Graduate University.