New Books Network — "Our Common Future: The Birth of Liberal Environmentalism"

Date: September 19, 2025
Host: Gordon Caddick (with Mark Apollonio)
Series: Green Dreams

Episode Overview

This episode explores the origins and global rise of liberal environmentalism, focusing on two lesser-known but pivotal Canadian figures: Jim McNeil, a socialist policy wonk from Saskatchewan, and Maurice Strong, an oilman turned international diplomat. The discussion traces how their collaboration, vision, and institutional maneuvering shaped the concept of "sustainable development," culminating in the influential UN report Our Common Future (1987). Through archive clips, interviews, and narration, the episode highlights the tensions, compromises, and complexities that made liberal environmentalism into today's mainstream “green dream”—the notion that economic growth and environmental protection can be mutually reinforcing, managed through pragmatic policy and guided by technocratic expertise.

Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Setting the Stage: What Is Liberal Environmentalism? (03:20–05:57)

• Definition & Premise: Liberal environmentalism is the belief that environmental protection and the current economic system (capitalism) can coexist and even support each other, through tools like carbon taxes, green technology subsidies, and market-based solutions.

  • "It's hard to notice liberal environmentalism because it's just the water we now swim in...but as we'll see, that wasn't always the case." — Gordon Caddick [04:12]

• Historical Alternatives: The late ‘60s and ‘70s offered more radical strands, like degrowth and environmental justice, but liberal environmentalism emerged victorious.

2. Jim McNeil: From Dust Bowl Refugee to Policy Visionary (05:57–22:41)

Early Life and Influences (06:27–12:50)

• McNeil grew up in Dust Bowl-era Saskatchewan; his earliest memories involve environmental devastation.
  • "That generation...were forever, I think, marked by living through that depression—the homeless, the jobless, the hungry, the ecological devastation." — Catherine McNeil Hodgins [08:13]
• The trauma of ecological disaster made McNeil an environmentalist by necessity.
  • "How Jim became an environmentalist—I don’t think you have much choice when you live through an ecological disaster as significant as a Dust Bowl." — Elizabeth May [08:27]

Saskatchewan Socialism and State-led Environmentalism (10:37–15:00)

• Joined the CCF, worked under Tommy Douglas (Medicare’s architect), became a senior policy advisor.
  • "He was one of his trusted, trusted people." — Elizabeth May [12:29]
• Oversaw the South Saskatchewan River Dam: large-scale state-led environmental infrastructure.
  • "We planted millions of trees...I took great joy in watching these forests grow to maturity." — (Jim McNeil memoir, voiced by Jay Coburn) [14:35]

Move to Ottawa: Bureaucratic Rise, Ethical Tensions (15:28–22:41)

• After CCF’s electoral loss, joined the federal service—the so-called "Saskatchewan Mafia."
• Faced the contradiction of promoting economic growth (esp. oil and gas) while advocating for environmental stewardship.
  • "Every politician I knew ran on a platform of increasing growth—not to do so would be inconceivable...At the same time, I was one of the few environmentalists..." — (Jim McNeil memoir, voiced by Jay Coburn) [18:31]
• Became environmental advisor to Pierre Trudeau; authored Environmental Management (1971), articulating his idea of a technocratic "win-win."

3. Maurice Strong: Capitalist Idealist and Global Connector (22:22–28:00)

• Strong’s hardscrabble Depression-era upbringing shaped his drive for both wealth and justice.
  • "I'm basically a socialist by ideology, but a capitalist by methodology." — Maurice Strong [22:41]
• Rose from UN security clerk (with help from the Rockefellers) to millionaire oil executive and influential international fixer.
• Described the moment of inspiration:
  • "A piece of newspaper blew up against the fence...about the creation of the United Nations...as a very young man...thought, I will go to the United Nations." — Elizabeth May [24:00]
• By early 1970s, Strong was tapped as Secretary-General for the UN’s first global environment conference (Stockholm 1972).
• He recruits McNeil as a key conceptual advisor.

4. Stockholm 1972: Birth of the Global "Green Dream" (28:52–39:36)

The Conference Context (29:14–32:05)

• First-ever global environment conference; attended by 113 nations, over 1,200 delegates.

  • "This conference in Stockholm had 25 or 30,000 people...attended by more press than went to the Munich Olympics." — David Runnels [29:35]

• Stark North-South tensions: Developing countries saw environmentalism as a threat to their need for economic growth.

  • "The major problems of the physical environment in Ghana are not those caused by industrial pollution...but the simple elementary ones...of biological pollution." — Ghanaian delegate [33:13]

The Breakthrough: “Eco-development” (33:55–37:52)

• At a seminar in Phonet, Switzerland, Strong, McNeil, and others split ecological problems: rich countries’ woes stemmed from overdevelopment, poor countries’ from poverty.
  • "Poverty is pollution." — Paraphrased; core idea from Phonet report [35:32]
• Model required "differential responsibilities"—rich countries finance poor countries’ sustainable growth.
• Indira Gandhi’s participation sealed South’s buy-in.

Stockholm Declaration and Its Legacy (37:52–39:36)

• Produced landmark declaration: environment is a right and responsibility, global differentiation of duties.
  • "I think the lasting message of the Stockholm Conference will be...the awareness of this...will be one of the most durable effects of the Stockholm conference." — Maurice Strong [38:48]
• Set the stage for global acceptance of the "win-win" framework.

5. The “Win-Win” Becomes Policy: OECD to Brundtland (40:09–47:20)

OECD: Selling Green Economics to the Powerful (40:09–42:21)

• McNeil leads environment division in Paris, works with economists to "legitimize" green policy within economic orthodoxy.
  • "It basically legitimized the role of environment in economics at the oecd. And that is a bit like getting the Pope to change some basic doctrine." — David Runnels [41:27]

Brundtland Commission: “Our Common Future” (42:54–47:14)

• Environmental crises mounting: desertification, acid rain, climate change, ozone holes.
• Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Norwegian PM, chairs new UN commission, appoints McNeil as Secretary General.
• Commission travels globally, hearing firsthand about environmental and developmental crises.
  • "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." — (quoting Our Common Future) [46:49]
• Report becomes globally influential, framing sustainable development as the new global orthodoxy.

6. Debates, Critiques, and the Limits of Liberal Environmentalism (47:20–51:42)

• Environmentalists split: Some see Our Common Future as radical (Elizabeth May), others as anemic (David Suzuki).

  • "Suzuki and I have had this argument over the years." — Elizabeth May [48:57]
  • "She didn’t address the issue that the economy was the destructive agent and that it had to be wrestled under control." — David Suzuki [48:47]

• Ambiguity intentional; report's vagueness enabled broad political buy-in.

  • "We do not offer a detailed blueprint for action, but instead a pathway by which the peoples of the world may enlarge their spheres of cooperation." — Our Common Future [51:06]

7. Mainstreaming and the Mulroney Era: Success and Contradiction (51:42–55:40)

• Sustainable development becomes mainstream in global institutions and university curriculums.
  • "It captured the world within a year...within two years it began to reshape curriculum in universities..." — Catherine McNeill Hodgins [51:42]
• Canadian PM Brian Mulroney adopts sustainable development, creates new agencies, yet paradoxically pursues deregulation and neoliberal trade agreements.
  • "To be fair, he clearly did score some wins for the environment, things that no conservative prime minister would do today. But at the same time, isn’t sustainable development predicated on reducing inequalities? Mulroney was no champion of equality." — Gordon Caddick [54:44]
• McNeil’s own assessment of Mulroney’s record is mixed.

8. Retreat and Disillusionment: Recession and Diminished Ambition (55:57–57:14)

• Early '90s recession brings rollback of corporate and governmental sustainability efforts.
  • "In some cases, you just got either shareholders or hedge funds or CEOs or whatever. That said, enough of this damn stuff. It cost too much money and it’s slowing everything down." — David Runnels [56:12]
• Subsequent UN summits (e.g., Rio 1992) celebrated for frameworks but criticized for lack of real follow-through.
  • "Jim and I both agreed that the Rio Earth Summit was a failure. It did not achieve what we wanted it to achieve." — Elizabeth May [57:40]

9. Legacy and Ongoing Debate: Technocracy vs. Transformation (58:41–63:10)

• McNeil and Strong are later honored but express disappointment over stalled progress.

  • "In my view, the journey to a more sustainable world is barely underway. Many say we've lost two decades in endless talk and virtually no action." — (Jim McNeil memoir, voiced by Jay Coburn) [59:42]

• McNeil sees the bottleneck as a lack of political courage, yet remains focused on elites and technocratic solutions.

  • "Most politicians, however, don’t lead. They follow. That has certainly been the case on environmental issues since the 60s." — (Jim McNeil memoir, voiced by Jay Coburn) [60:10]

• The episode ends with reflection that the liberal environmental model—hoping for expert-led, elite-driven consensus—is perhaps itself the most utopian dream of all, and that real change may require grassroots mobilization and accepting hard trade-offs, not just technocratic compromise.

Notable Quotes (with Timestamps)

• "I believe that the basic goals of economic growth and environmental management are the same: a better quality of life for mankind. I also believe that both are required to achieve it." — Jim McNeil, via Jay Coburn [20:56]

• "I regard this report as a milestone in the history of the environmental movement and an absolutely seminal document." — Maurice Strong [36:10]

• "Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." — Brundtland Commission /Our Common Future [46:49]

• "The shocking thing to me out of the Brundtland report was that she really believed if you did everything...the economy could be kept growing...she didn’t address that the economy was the destructive agent." — David Suzuki [48:37; 48:50]

• "There’s nothing in Our Common Future that's predicated on market capitalism...He would talk about sustainable development. He would say sustainable growth is an oxymoron." — Elizabeth May [49:12]

• "Most politicians, however, don't lead. They follow. That has certainly been the case on environmental issues since the 60s." — Jim McNeil, via Jay Coburn [60:10]

Structural Outline (with Key Segments and Timestamps)

• 00:00–01:30 — Ads and Network intros (skip)
• 01:30–05:27 — Host overview: the "Green Dreams" series and introduction to liberal environmentalism's emergence
• 05:57–22:41 — Biography and political development of Jim McNeil
• 22:22–28:00 — Maurice Strong's rise and partnership with McNeil
• 28:52–39:36 — The Stockholm Conference: diplomatic breakthroughs, eco-development, and new global consensus
• 40:09–47:20 — The institutionalization of the "win-win" at OECD and the Brundtland Commission
• 47:20–51:59 — Fractures, critiques, and mainstreaming of sustainable development
• 51:59–55:40 — Adoption (and contradiction) of sustainable development in Canadian politics under Mulroney
• 55:57–57:14 — Retreat of liberal environmentalism during economic downturns; Rio Earth Summit as a case study
• 58:41–63:10 — Legacy, reflection, and critical reassessment of the liberal environmental paradigm

Tone and Language

The episode strikes a balance between narrative storytelling, archival sound, and expert reflection. The style is accessible yet scholarly, often wry and critical in tone. Key voices—host Gordon Caddick, Elizabeth May, David Runnels, Catherine McNeill Hodgins, and historical figures (via archive)—all contribute nuance, vividly bringing to life the personal histories and intellectual battles that shaped today's mainstream environmental thinking.

Conclusion

The episode leaves listeners with a critical question: Has the sustainable development dream delivered real results, or simply a universally appealing—but ultimately inadequate—compromise? The hosts suggest that while we live with the concepts and institutions created by McNeil and Strong, their liberal environmental dream has not yet produced an environmentally sustainable world. The ultimate challenge may be less about expert policy and more about power, politics, and the willingness to embrace hard choices for real change.

For further resources and credits, visit Sighted Podcast or check the show notes.