Circular Economy: An Ethicaland Sustainable Economic Development Model

Th e traditional linear economic growth model pursues solely the GDP growth, and economic development is achieved at the expense of the environment and the resources. Th is model has obvious ethical fl aws and has been viewed as a “from cradle to grave” approach. Diff erently, the circular economy development model establishes the principles of “Reduce, Reuse and Recycle” as its core contents in order to achieve sustainable development, which has been viewed as a "from cradle to cradle" approach. Circular economy engenders new ethical relationships, and proposes new ethics of production and consumption. Circular economy implies the holistic value principle and sustainable value principle, which can remedy the ethical fl aws of the traditional linear model. As an ethical and sustainable development approach, circular economy contributes to the Copernican change in the fi eld of economic ethics.