Many an envious gaze is being cast at the Asian success story. It is, however, ironic that free-market economics has achieved unparalleled hegemony in development discourse. For the most striking NIC achievements on the ground have consistently violated free-market principles. In the face of the US trade and doctrinal assault, Asian political and economic lites have remained steadfast. They have not merely refused to 'roll back' their interventionist policies but are seeking to legitimize a positive role for an activist and protectionist state.
Sustainable development is no simple-minded import from the North.
It is the product of a myriad of grassroots confrontations with the alienating and repressive results of both kinds of development 'from above'. As sustainable development steps into the vacuum created by the collapse of traditional socialism, it is becoming a vehicle for the aspirations of those who have been dealt out of Asia's economic miracle. The sustainable development critique sees clearly enough the differences between the free market and NIC approaches, but prefers to concentrate on their similarities. High growth allows absolute income to rise despite the worsening of income distribution, as in the Korean, Taiwanese, Singaporean and Thai economies over the last decade. are ecologically destructive to the point of unsustainability. This is changing.