Faustian dilemma

plural Faustian dilemmas

1. idiomaticHaving to choose between an option that promises short-term gain with foreseeable adverse long-term consequences, and an alternative option with no short-term gain and possibly even short-term suffering, but promising an eventually better future than the first option.

   I find that many people see sustainability as a version of a Faustian dilemma; they often knowingly make choices that have immediate personal benefits, but in the long run are disastrous for all of us.

   2011 April 6, Ron Ashkenas, “Sustainability’s Faustian Dilemma”, in Harvard Business Review