Neoclassical growth theory licensed the claim that the American way of life is optimal

Evidence

In language that offers a remarkably direct attack on the premises of market liberalism, the Plan of Implementation of the 2002 World Summit on Sustainable Development, in Johannesburg, identi- fi es “changing unsustainable patterns of production and consumption” as an “overarching objective[] of, and essential requirement[] for, sustainable development. … One of the reasons that U.S. representatives in Rio could adopt, without obvious embarrassment, such an absolutist and seemingly selfserving stance is that they came armed with a theoretical edifi ce that claims to refute the need to engage in any such negotiation, an edifi ce that purports to show that the “American way of life” is not only sustainable but optimal for all generations to come. Specifi cally, the U.S. representatives came armed with the teachings of neoclassic growth theory and welfareeconomicpolicy analysis, both of which seem to have resolved the problem of intergenerational resource allocation in a manner that avoids the need to prioritize natural resource uses across time. — Douglas A. Kysar, Regulating from Nowhere, 399

Categorization

• XREF: This is the book’s opening statement of its thesis: the welfare-economic edifice masks contestable value judgments as objective technique — the precise bridge into Legal Systems’ values focus. — connects to: Roosevelt framed conservation as duty to unborn generations outweighing present gain — Douglas A. Kysar, Regulating from Nowhere: Environmental…, 388; Italian neoclassical economists framed inequality as a natural, healthy social fact — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order: How Economists…, 1705
• SEED: Strong essay hook for Legal Systems: the 1992 Rio ‘American way of life is not negotiable’ moment as a case study in how regulatory neutrality rhetoric fuses economics and national identity.

Broader Connections

• Italian neoclassical economists framed inequality as a natural, healthy social fact #corroborates (0.78) — Clara E. Mattei, The Capital Order, 1705