Review Reports

Round 1

Reviewer 1 Report

 

1.      There is an interesting discussion in this research about implement a TBL sustainability approach in public planning However, there is insufficient discussion of exactly why to implement sustainability planning based on the TBL. Beside the prevailing trend of the economic pillar! 

2.      The authors seem to focus more on TBL challenging!! in the introduction section, the article introduced TBI to be so challenging approach. and the article conclude: I Quote

“It has been verified that the TBL remains an idealistic approach when subjected to the global economic model of capitalism, which forces an imbalance in favour of economic aspects.”  Explain the add value of all the details the article mentioned? If you start and end you article with more or less the seem opinion.

Why you chose challenging approach to explain challenging concept as sustainability ?  

3.      In figure 1, the authors introduced interesting Analytical framework but they did not address all the mentioned question clearly. And I missed the new model  

4.      In figure 2, the reader would prefer to know more about how the authors came with the real-world TBL-based sustainability approaches. Authors need to clearly support their argument (line 116-118)

5. Line 116 wrong caption reference.
6. Paragraph 3.1 is very lengthy and goes into detailed accounts that are best suited for the article’s literature review sections. As such, I suggest the authors reduces this section and reconsider its location.
7. Line 158, check the section number and title. (a more precise title could indicate better understanding to the content of the section).

General comments

1. The need for the study is not well justified.
2. This paper would benefit from some closer proofreading and re-structured the sections.
3. The writing language of the paper was not easy to follow, the dividing of the sections could be improved and the paper would benefit from stylistic changes. And there are a few sentences that need rephrasing for clarity.
4. The results of the research are interesting, only the presentation of the problem and its analysis is not completely clear, and it also lacks the linking of the proposed concepts in a better and easier way for the reader.

 

 

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

Please find attached a Word document with the answers to your comments. We are thankful for your contribution to our work.

Best regards,

Author Response File: Author Response.pdf

Reviewer 2 Report

Content-wise as well as observably, the article is highly interesting. Extensive and up-to-date literature on the subject indicates a very good preparation of the authors for the analysed subject. However, I made a few minor suggestions.

1.  The introduction section covered the review methodology but provided no details on keywords, search terms/strings, dates of search, how the search was bounded in terms of dates of publication/language, how many articles were returned from the search, what was the inclusion/exclusion criteria, how many articles were included in the analysis etc. I would expect more information on how the review was conducted since this was presented as a review paper.

 

2. There are a few minor errors in the citation merging e.g., line no. 36, 46, 51, 101, 107, 115, 123, 145, 167, 171 and 178.
3. A full form of the 'se' has not been given (lines no. 148 and 174).

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

Please find attached a Word document with the answers to your comments. We are thankful for your contribution to our work.

Best regards,

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 3 Report

1- Abstract: please use technical writing in “This paper aims to address such challenges by proposing a new vision of strong sustainability 14 that is characterised by: i) considering the global economic model in a real-world approach; and ii) 15 having strong core values of sustainability.”. I would suggest to begin with “A new vision…..” and avoid the bullet points.

2- The significance of the work should be highlighted in the last paragraph of Introduction.  

3- The authors are advised to avoid the bullet points format within the manuscript.

4- The conclusion is very long. Please reduce it to half page.

5- The authors are strongly recommended to include Future direction to the work.

6- Technical writing is suggested. Thus, kindly proof read the article by English expert.

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

Please find attached a Word document with the answers to your comments. We are thankful for your contribution to our work.

Best regards,

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Reviewer 4 Report

Towards a sustainability-based society: An analysis of the fundamental values ​​from the perspective of economics and philosophy

 

The reviewed text takes up a very important issue of the possibility of sustainable development and its importance for the continued existence of human society and the human kind as such. Based on the analysis of the literature on the subject and their own analytical investigations, the authors proposed their own vision of the sustainable development strategy. The research presented in the article is analytical and transdisciplinary in nature. Its authors refer to the results of research in the field of economy, ecology, sociology and philosophy. Such a research strategy allows us to understand the problem of sustainable development in all its complexity. It is possible to develop specific recommendations for business strategies at the level of individual enterprises, as well as for the environmental and social policy of the state.

The text has a clear and consistent structure, which was articulated at the beginning of the article in the form of a clear diagram (Figure 1). The authors managed to make a thorough review of the literature on the issue of sustainable development. They also refer to the classics of philosophy, trying to familiarize the reader with the role of the state in human social life. The closing parts of the article clearly articulate the possibilities of the proposed model of sustainable development. It also points to its limitations and problems that it has to deal with.

 

 

General reservations

 

My reservations concern the applied philosophical method and the philosophical sources cited. In the section presenting ancient social thought, it is worth referring to Aristotle ("Politics", "Nicomachean Ethics") in addition to Plato ("State"). Among contemporary authors analyzing the phenomenon of capitalism, only Slavoj Žižek is mentioned. Perhaps it is also worth mentioning other authors, such as Jean Baudrillard?

When pointing to the limitations of the capitalist system (free market), the authors pay little attention to the profound changes that are taking place today not only at the social level, but also at a deeper, anthropological level. I mean new ways of constituting a human being. To analyze this changes and understand its impact on the economic dimension (including the possibility of sustainable development), it is not enough to refer to the classics of philosophy such as Plato, Machiavelli, Hobbes or Lock.

In my opinion, the method of phenomenological anthropology (researching the ways of constituting the structures of contemporary man’s identity) may be helpful. The authors consider man as something given and unchanging. Contemporary philosophy, however, has departed from this perspective of looking at man. In my opinion, today’s philosopher cannot speak of man as such. We should talk about a medieval man, a modern man, a man of postmodernism, etc.

The authors of the article use term „individual" as the synonym of man. Such perspective is proper for „modernist discourse”. The concept of the individual is closely related to the capitalist vision of the economy and the liberal social vision related to it. If we want to implement a model of sustainable development, we may be forced to develop a new perspective of talking about the human person.

I have the impression that the authors of the articles take a somewhat simplified perspective of looking at human needs, dividing them into two categories - biological and emotional. It manifests itself in numerous passages of the text. If we want to talk about a man and the economy he creates from a philosophical perspective, we could also take into account other needs, such as existential, intellectual, cultural, spiritual, the need for self-realization, etc. It is too simplistic to define them as emotional needs. Moreover, the real person with whom a marketologist, politician or researcher is dealing is not only the result of social relations. It cannot be understood by being limited only to the biological and sociological perspective.

Another general comment concerns the quotation of philosophical works. In the chapter devoted to philosophical analysis in many places there is no reference to sources. Perhaps the authors consciously do not provide sources in the case of classical philosophical texts. However, adding sources, in my opinion, will increase the substantive value of this very interesting and up-to-date text.

 

 

Detailed comments

 

line 25

„…sustainability means “the quality of being able to continue over a period of time” ...

It is worth providing some alternative definitions proposed by various authors.

 

line 44

„…explores the field of sustainability through transdisciplinarity and systematic thinking...

It is worth defining transdisciplinarity, showing how it differs from interdisciplinarity. It seems that transdisciplinarity is based on a certain trans-discourse that methodologically connects individual discourses into a single whole. Perhaps philosophical anthropology can serve as such a discourse? The same applies to the term "systematic thinking" used by the authors of the article. Is it about systems theory or a more general meaning?

 

line 62

„…this work includes a literature review, which first explores capitalism...

It is worth remembering that the Chinese economy also plays an important role in today’s global economy. It is not capitalist in the proper sense. What can be said about the potential of a planned economy to achieve sustainable development? Today, when the computing power of computers has increased significantly from what it was 30-40 years ago, its potential is higher than it was in the 1980s. The internal structure of today’s large corporations can serve as an example of a planned economy.

 

line 73

„…firstly, a review of the literature on the global social and economic model (capitalism), and its relationship with sustainability and the TBL is presented ...

is there internal contradiction between the classical capitalism and the concept of sustainable development? It is worth defining what the capitalist model is. Then we will understand whether it can coexist with the TBL principle. Does the capitalist economy threaten the very existence of the human species in the long run?

 

line 153

In addition to green capitalism and circularity, in recent years actions have been taken toward achieving a collaborative economy, with the aim of tackling hyper-consumerism; however, these have been successfully reframed by regime actors as purely an economic activity, and are, thus, unlikely to lead to sustainability...

In part, consumption is not a rational act. Its roots lie in social fears and complexes. We constantly buy new goods not because we need something, but because we lack a certain emotion or confidence. So, irrational factors should be taken into account.

 

line 165

„…Furthermore, EE puts qualitative development above quantitative growth…

Money as the backbone of the economy is in itself a quantitative rather than a qualitative category. So, in a sense, we are doomed to think in terms of quantity. It is a form of Pythagoreism, which is also increasingly present in the academic field.

 

line 208

„…emphasized the role of the rulers of society in facilitating the daily lives of individuals…

Please ad the references e.g. „Analects” by Confucius.

 

line 220

The happiness of the rulers and the ruled, other than through materialism, should be achieved through personal development and harmony of life...

Please ad the reference, may be "Republic" by Plato and "Politics" by Aristotle

 

line 222

After a dark period for philosophy throughout the Middle Ages…

in my opinion, we don’t say anymore about "dark ages of philosophy in Middle Ages"

 

line 232

„…Rousseau identified private property...

please ad the reference

 

line 257

[John] Stuart Mill argued that…

I think its should be "John Stuart Mill", not just "Stuart Mill"

 

line 292

After the failure of socialist states...

Was it the failure of the Soviet Union and it’s satellites or the failure of socialist states itself? What about People's Republic of China?

 

 

line 331

Žižek’s view on the rule of capital ties in well with Plato’s concern regarding economics and how rulers had to be protected from material ends by…

I'm not sure this is a good comparison. Žižek talks about man in a democratic and egalitarian society. In the Platonic State (Republic), the aristocracy is part of the social hierarchy and is relieved of a number of duties.

 

line 234

Hans Karl von Carlowitz introduced the concept of natural yield limit...

It is worth pointing to his texts as sources.

 

line 349

Regarding the sustainability of society, it has been observed that for a society to endure over time it needs to ensure the satisfaction of the human needs of its individuals; these include both biological and emotional needs…

The authors talk about "human needs". They are concerned not only with biological and emotional needs, but also with intellectual, cultural, spiritual, altruistic needs. They are all realised not only on an individual level, but also in the social dimension. Therefore, I do not fully understand why the authors in other parts of the article (e.g. line 389) talk about the dualism of biological and emotional needs.

 

line 411

„…Integrate sustainability science within societal thinking...

Staying on the level of sociology, we will not understand the in-depth problems plaguing modern man. We must take into account changes at the anthropological level, changes in the understanding of who man is, what his place is among other people and in the natural environment.

 

 

Subjective conclusions and thoughts

 

After reading this interesting and reliable article, some thoughts came to me that I would like to share.

We usually believe that environmental and economic disadvantages can be dealt with by market measures. In other words, we believe in the governing (regulative)  power of the free market. However, this is not an obvious assumption. We assume that to achieve sustainable development it is enough to do the same as before just without harming the environment. However, today we have to change the consumption model itself. If we consume less, we will work less, devote our time to our family and relationships with others, and to creativity. Unless this time is stolen from us. Advertising and marketing encourage us not only to increase consumption, but also, indirectly, to increase work.

In order to change the attitude of society towards consumption, attention must be paid at the state level to the content of advertisements and the marketing strategies used. Economic growth shouldn’t be considered as a measure of a state’s progress and success. It is necessary to move on to new, more humanistic values, to promote them. However, is the state interested in this? In order to answer this question, it is necessary to understand what the modern state is, what values ​​serve the main motivation for making decisions by the ruling politicians. Will they want to hear the voice of scientists and philosophers? Today’s attention to ecological problems does not always serve to improve the natural conditions of human life. The aim of drawing attention to them may also be a victory in a competition against a less wealthy country or a company that cannot afford to implement costly innovations.

In order to make changes in the approach to consumption, it is worth using the method of philosophical phenomenology and looking at the ways of constituting a person. It seems that today’s man constitutes himself precisely through consumption (as well as through a different social fears). It is therefore necessary to change the way of constituting oneself. This may be the role of philosophy in the analysis of today’s civilisation, ecological or economic situation. We cannot solve the problem of sustainable development by staying only on the level of ecology, economics and sociology.

The question whether the listed problems can be overcome in the future remains open, or whether a radical change of the entire economic system is necessary. To solve them, goodwill is necessary not only on the part of researchers, but also politicians and business representatives. However, such will may not be available in a situation where changes are associated with a reduction in income or even with a new distribution of goods in the long term. So the problem with sustainable development is not only academic (intellectual), but above all ethical and political. I encourage the authors to continue and deepen the chosen research direction.

Comments for author File: Comments.pdf

Author Response

Dear reviewer,

Please find attached a Word document with the answers to your comments. We are thankful for your contribution to our work.

Best regards,

Author Response File: Author Response.docx

Round 2

Reviewer 1 Report

Well done!