Vilfredo Federico Damaso Pareto (1848-1923), an Italian Polymath (trai – ned in physics and mathematics) whose genius radiated into the major fields of knowledge especially, sociology, civil engineering, economics, political science and philosophy had made several contributions to economic theories. One of his major contributions to welfare economics had been a unique theory famously known as Pareto efficiency, Pareto Optimality or Pareto equilibrium which signifies a stage from where no further improvement is possible without making someone worse off. Taking a cue from Pareto Optimality, Indian economist Bhabatosh Datta defined economic development in simple language as “some gain somewhere without any loss anywhere.”

The question is: can there be real gain or economic development without adversely affec – ting humans, nature or environment? Or is there a win-win situation while undertaking development projects? Perhaps no, because there is always a tradeoff and achieving Pareto efficiency is an impossibility. Jeremy Bentham (1748- 1832), English philosopher, jurist and social reformer propounded an ethical theory known in economics as Utilitarianism which enunciates a principle: “it is the greatest happiness of the greatest number that is the measure of right and wrong”. Any action or policy for the improvement of the lot of humans would be ethical and desirable if it bestows maximum good for the maximum number irrespective of questions of equity.

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Therefore, the trade-off was accepted as normal. This is understandable. In an era when life was “nasty, brutish and short” in the entire European continent, any economic gain anywhere for alleviating human suffering was welcome. Therefore, the trade-off between economic gain and the environmental fall-out was never given any importance although there was, as Charles Dickens said, “ugliness, ugliness, and ugliness” everywhere, especially in the early stages of coal-fired industries in England. During the first half of the twentieth century, the world badly battered by the First World War, the Great Depression and the Second World War which destroyed western Europe and many parts of Africa and Asia, didn’t have breathing time to think about environmental damage because of the urgent need for reconstruction, rehabilitation, de-colonisation and providing food to hungry millions. It is only after the 1960s that awareness about the deleterious impact of war and economic development on humans and the environment started to emerge.........

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