Sustainability, behavior patterns and crises

TL;DR

This paper examines the complex relationship between sustainability, human behavior patterns, and crises, highlighting how certain behavioral cycles hinder progress towards global development goals.

Contribution

It introduces a simple mathematical model illustrating how behavior patterns contribute to crises and impede sustainable development efforts.

Findings

Behavior pattern 'Parochial cooperation - Conflict - Growth' leads to crises.

These patterns challenge the achievement of SDGs.

Insights from models can inform global governance strategies.

Abstract

Sustainability has been defined as meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. But what are the needs of the present? And are they met? From the poor performance of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), defined by the UN in 2015, not even the collective needs of the present seem to be met. How to expect not to compromise the needs of the future? Is the achievement of global world goals incompatible with the characteristic processes of human evolution, as some authors have recently suggested? Simple mathematical models cannot capture the whole breadth of human experience and destiny. But, on the other hand, one should not neglect whatever insights they may provide. And what these models teach us is how the behavior pattern "Parochial cooperation - Conflict - Growth" was reached and how this pattern, in addition to leading to several types of crises, is also on the way of the global governance needed to achieve the SDG's