Cooperativeness as a Virtue of Sustainability

Abstract Cooperativeness, although mentioned by environmental philosophers, has not received adequate attention from scholars of environmental virtue. I seek to remedy this neglect by exploring the virtue’s relationship to both social and environmental sustainability. Cooperativeness must first be differentiated from cooperation, defined, and refined. Once this is accomplished, I use specific cases to demonstrate cooperativeness in action: ecological restoration (an example of environmental sustainability) and cooperative business (an example of social sustainability). Although this chapter draws on resources from Christian ethics, multiple religious and cultural perspectives support cooperativeness in one form or another; this chapter should prove interesting and informative to Christians and non-Christians alike.