REFLECTIONS ON THE RELATIONS BETWEEN SUSTAINABILITY, DEVELOPMENT AND COLONIALITY

Abstract

This essay discusses sustainability, based on the ideas of development disseminated by the global north since the post-World War II period, in view of its inscription in the colonial matrix of power, which was formed in the sixteenth century, with the invasion, by Europeans, of territories of the global south. The objective is to reflect on the relationships between sustainability, development and coloniality. Discursively, companies present themselves as able to ensure the realization of sustainable development, responsible for reconciling the generation of profit and the maintenance of living conditions on the planet. The theoretical discussion encompasses the analysis of world-system, decolonial theory and thought of the global south, through a hypothetical-deductive methodology with literature review. It is concluded that sustainability is forged from the European modern-colonial historical mode, which considers itself global and formatted to meet the needs of a capitalism eager to stay alive.