One Man – One Vote – One Carbon Footprint: Knowledge for Sustainable Development

Abstract

“One man, one vote” is the core idea of modern democracy. It is a slogan that has been used in many parts of the world, and in many public campaigns for universal suffrage. It became particularly prevalent during the period of emerging parliamentarism, and later during the phase of decolonisation and the global struggles for national sovereignty. Today, while modern societies are being challenged by non sustainable developments, the concept of knowledge democracy is emerging. This concept emphasises direct, participative forms of coping with challenges of increasing knowledge production and of applying this knowledge to solve problems of very long term and fundamental characteristics. With this, the slogan “one man, one vote” gets a new connotation and gains renewed relevance for societies in dealing with their debt to the future. In this chapter we will argue that it will even expand its relevance if combined with the fundamental idea of environmental justice as expressed by the idea of “one man, one vote, one carbon footprint”, and that this also requires that the debate on sustainable development will be better informed.