Since the end of the 20th century, human beings have been faced with various "ecological problems", and the issue of sustainable development has become the focus of human attention. As a new development model and concept, sustainable development has been deeply rooted in people's hearts and put into practice by more and more countries as a social development strategy, which is a qualitative leap in the process of human social civilization. However, as far as the current situation is concerned, the understanding of the connotation of sustainable development is still not consistent, and even some basic issues have not yet been formed, such as the status of people in sustainable development. This is directly related to how to grasp the essence of the concept of sustainable development, and even to the fundamental problem of whether sustainable development can be truly realized.

First, the dominant position of man in the relationship with nature.

The so-called subjective position of human beings refers to a position of human beings in the relationship with nature, that is, in this relationship, human beings are the subject and nature is the object. The relationship between man and nature is quite complicated, with different angles and levels. The relationship between subject and object is the basic aspect of the relationship between man and nature, but it can't cover the whole relationship between man and nature. Therefore, the establishment of the "subject-object" relationship between man and nature is also limited, and its role is also limited. Generally speaking, the relationship between man and nature can be confirmed from two angles. First, from the ontological (factual) point of view, man and other creatures (living and non-living) in nature are all part of the natural ecosystem, and man and other natural creatures have an "equal" relationship. In this sense, it is difficult to distinguish between people and other natural objects, who is the master and who is the guest. Second, from the perspective of axiology (value), human beings have special attributes different from other natural beings, and have autonomy and creativity that other beings do not have. Man originates from nature and transcends it. People can take natural objects other than people as the objects of understanding, utilization and transformation, so that direct natural objects or transformed natural objects can be used and served by people. At the same time, people also have the self-awareness and ability to know and transform themselves, that is, in the conscious and purposeful activities of human beings against nature, the positive transformation of nature is consistent with the conscious transformation of human beings themselves, and human beings themselves are transformed in the transformation of nature. "Consciously" transforming nature and "actively" transforming nature interact, which are mutually causal and complementary, thus realizing the coordination, life and mutual benefit between man and nature. It can be seen that in the relationship between man and nature, man's dominant position is mainly confirmed in the relationship between subject and object formed in the sense of "axiology". However, human practice and natural science research have proved that even in the sense of "ontology", human activities show a certain degree of subjectivity. "Because human activities on the earth are very extensive and constantly change or affect the natural environment of the earth, it has become the dominant ecological factor in the biological ecosystem" [1](P43). In a word, in the relationship between man and nature, the connotation of man's dominant position is mainly as follows: (1) man actively uses and transforms nature according to his own needs of survival and development, realizing the objectification of subject and body; (2) People "internalize" the external nature through practical activities to enrich, perfect and develop people's self and realize the subjectivity of things; (3) The essence of man's dominant position is that man is the purpose. As far as the essence of the relationship between man and nature is concerned, man has the value of purpose and nature has the value of means. As far as human beings are concerned, to correctly understand and effectively handle the relationship between man and nature must take whether it meets the objective needs of human survival and development as the ultimate value orientation and evaluation standard. Of course, this does not deny the objectivity and independence of nature in human activities, that is, nature can exist independently of human beings, and it has objective laws and essence that are not transferred by human will. However, the existence of nature and the "value" of its laws are endowed by human existence and needs. On the one hand, the existence of nature and its laws has a restrictive effect on people's purpose and realization, that is to say, people can't "do whatever they want" in front of nature, so they must recognize the real existence of nature and respect the laws of nature; On the other hand, the existence of nature and its laws is valuable, because it provides conditions for human survival and development, serves human activities and serves human purposes. This is the basic meaning of man's subject status, and it is also the basic content and regulation of the relationship between man and nature. It is man's dominant position that determines the nature of the relationship between man and nature, the scope of man's activities and the role of nature.