Abstract At the core of ecological economics is the image of the economy as an open system embedded in the natural environment whose carrying capacity is limited. The present paper revisits this image by drawing upon the constructivist implications of Luhmann's social systems theory. To Luhmann, the modern society consists of a multitude of social systems each bringing forth and observing their own environments. If the Luhmannian vision is accepted, then ecological economics can be said to privilege the observational perspective of natural sciences. The unfortunate consequence of this privileging is the underestimation of a broad range of multidimensional sustainability risks which are foregrounded by the numerous alternative observational perspectives which are just as legitimate. It is argued that, rather than relativizing the sustainability concerns of the modern ecological economics, the Luhmannian perspective generalizes and radicalizes them. In doing so, the latter perspective opens new possibilities not only for navigating these risks but also for envisioning new resources and solutions.

中文翻译：

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自然之东。考虑社会科学的环境

摘要 生态经济学的核心是将经济视为嵌入在自然环境中、承载能力有限的开放系统。本论文通过借鉴卢曼社会系统理论的建构主义含义重新审视了这一形象。对卢曼而言，现代社会由众多社会系统组成，每个系统都产生并观察自己的环境。如果卢曼的观点被接受，那么生态经济学可以说优先于自然科学的观察视角。这种特权的不幸后果是低估了广泛的多维可持续性风险，这些风险被许多同样合法的替代观察观点所推崇。有说法认为，卢曼观点没有将现代生态经济学的可持续性问题相对化，而是将它们概括和激进化。在这样做时，后一种观点不仅为驾驭这些风险而且为设想新的资源和解决方案开辟了新的可能性。