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Communication Research
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Sustainable Development and the Global Economy

Rhetorical Implications for Improving the Quality of Life

MARK MEISTER

PHYLLIS M. JAPP

The discourse of sustainable development represents a consensus between environmental conservation and industrial use. The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) that was held in the summer of 1992 attempted to initiate sustainable development policies aimed at improving the quality of human life. The major focus of UNCED was on the 400-page Agenda 21 and its initiatives for sustainable development practices and quality-of-life improvement. This article looks at the language contained in Agenda 21 and analyzes the quality-of-life phrase used throughout the text. The analysis follows insights of Burke's theory of dramatism, which contends that language functions symbolically to reinforce and maintain political power. The analysis illustrates how Agenda 21 both uses the quality-of-life phrase to promote consumerism and consumption and neglects to profile serious environmental protection.

Communication Research, Vol. 25, No. 4, 399-421 (1998)
DOI: 10.1177/009365098025004004
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