The article discusses how far the ecological state can go in pursuing sustainable development without intruding on democratic values. Focussing on social choice mechanisms, it draws the image of the ecological state as a “green fist in a velvet glove.”

Jonathan Aldred tests aspects of the claim that ocussing
cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is limited in scope, as some things cannot be meaningfully priced. He focuses on problems of incomparability and incommensurability, and compares CBA to rough equality.

This essay argues that important development and natural resource management initiatives that seek to expand meaningful participation by rural communities directly affected by such ventures can be usefully examined as democratic technologies.

This paper places the work of a Peruvian NGO (PRATEC), with which the author collaborates, within a broad context of the theory of knowledge.