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Quality, Not Quantity

The easiest measurements of development have always been those which can be summed up using numbers. Economic Production, Income and Gross Domestic Product, for example – all are routinely quantified around the world. But while important, such measurements are usually incomplete, because the social and ecological dimensions of societal well-being are harder to express in solely numeric form. Fortunately, the more qualitative dimensions of SD are now in vogue, as decision-makers stress quality over quantity in the data they demand for making crucial decisions about the future. Many of the ideas in this issue underscore the trend. Both the Barometer of Sustainability (DI#1) and the emerging SD Scenario-Building models (DI#3) stress the importance of basing development decisions on clear and transparent values. They recognize that, ultimately, quantitative scientific approaches are guided by deeper qualitative decisions about societal priorities, and that these priorities should be made explicit rather than simply remaining hidden. The Native American Circle of Development model (DI#4) also stresses a holistic view of the world which does not reduce readily to numerical reductionism. The US-based Cultural Environment Movement (CEM) is another case in point. Launched by the Annenburg School of Communications, the movement focuses on the critical role the media plays in shaping people’s perception about progress and ‘appropriate’ natural resource use. The Movement focuses on the qualitative question of political power over the global 'cultural environment' (read media), and concludes that despite the wide proliferation of media channels in contemporary society, democratic control over the media must not simply be assumed. It hopes to help decentralize control over the media thus allowing room for more and diverse reporting. As Quality rises in importance next to Quantity, broader indicators of sustainable development are beginning to receive as much emphasis as traditional numerical measurements of economic development did in the past.