Using ecological science as a backdrop for this discussion, the author applies Michel Foucault's historical genealogical strategy to an analysis of the processes through which sustainable development (SD) gained hegemonic acceptance in the West. She analyses some of the ideological mutations that have seen SD emerge from an environmentalist ideology based on ecological science to that of a mainstream market-oriented ideology for global economic development. This involves canvassing the voices of early environmental authors and ecologists, whose ideas such as "carrying capacity", "limits to growth" and "finite resources" have been co-opted by the 'sustainable development' movement. It is argued that a discursive political and philosophical conservatism has muted the potential for a truly radical ecological approach.