During the same period, (post1983) that has brought Sustainable Development to the fore in the global political debate of, for example, the United Nations and the W.S.S.D. the world has seen the beginnings of a transition to a global networked knowledge society. The forces this transition unleashed, combined with demographic, environmental, political and other changes, have raised awareness of issues of sustainable development in a very broad sense. The transition itself incorporates the continuing development and deployment of Information Society Technologies (ISTs), the increasing information-richness of economic, societal and cultural life (dematerialisation and immaterialisation), rapidly-changing patterns of communication, with consequent realignment of identities, allegiances and methods of working (networking), etc. These have potentially profound implications for sustainability.

The most obvious is this: the dilemma of sustainability arises because things are decided narrowly . that have a strong and rich network of global implications. The immediate implication of the global networked knowledge society is that the remote draws near, while that which was near may be crowded out (globalisation). This changes the shape of sustainability – it may lead to paradoxical conclusions, ‘rewire’ the network of crosscutting effects and change the identities, interests and powers of stakeholders. Networks also offer the characteristic of self-reinforcement, with each additional member providing extra value to each existing member, mixing the roles of consumers and suppliers in ways we do not always fully understand.

The global networked knowledge society must be understood and factored into our analysis of the world sustainability problematique. A casual glance at available evidence shows that the transition has made some things demonstrably worse: demand for goods and services produced from environmental resources has increased faster than the efficiency with which they are used; differences in income are hardening into differences in wealth and differences in life chances, etc. It almost seems as though humanity is speeding up as it nears the edge of oblivion. At the same time, the same global networked knowledge society developments hold the promise – perhaps the only promise – of an escape from the dilemma of sustainability. New technologies can fulfil an expanding range of human needs with diminishing demands for resources; new means of access can reorient growth towards convergence without either loss of incentive or loss of diversity; and new means of communication can build an equitable, open and inclusive society that is both sustainable and sustaining.