ABSTRACT
In order to achieve a more equitable income distribution and reduce natural resource exploitation to sustainable levels, the Brazilian government will need to reverse course away from its earlier ruinous policies, and find an alternative basis for developing economically that is not as exacting on its natural resources. The widespread view that the standing tropical forest is an obstacle to development is another impediment to progressive change. Also, Brazil’s most recent bout of financial instability has cast significant doubt on the likelihood of achieving continued growth—even by conventional GDP standards. Despite its oft-expressed ambiguity, ‘sustainable development’ at the very least provides the beginnings of a concrete goal or objective to strive for. Sustainable development requires a reliable manner of evaluating the degree of success, and it is in this way that the call for alternatives to GDP is important from the perspective of any Lesser-Developed Country.
