Nature, Environment and Society PDF
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Nature, Environment and Society SOCIOLOGY FOR A CHANGING WORLD Series Editors: Graham Allan and Mary Maynard Consultant Editor: Janet Finch This series, published in conjunction with the British Sociology Association, evaluates and reflects major developments in contemporary sociology. The books focus on key changes in social and economic life in recent years and on the ways in which the discipline of sociology has analysed those changes. The books reflect the state of the art in contemporary British sociology, while at the same time drawing upon comparative material to set debates in an international perspective. Published Graham Allan and Graham Crow, Families, Households and Society Rosamund Billington, Annette Fitzsimons, Lenore Greensides and Sheelagh Strawbridge, Culture and Society Lois Bryson, Welfare and the State Frances Heidensohn, Crime and Society Stephen J. Hunt, Religion in Western Society Mike Savage and Alan Warde, Urban Sociology, Capitalism and Modernity John Solomos and Les Back, Racism and Society Philip W. Sutton, Nature, Environment and Society Andrew Webster, Science, Technology and Society Forthcoming Kevin Brehony and Rosemary Deem, Rethinking Sociologies of Education Gordon Causer and Ray Norman, Work and Employment in Contemporary Society Jörg Dürrschmidt and Graham Taylor, Globalisation, Modernity and Social Change David Morgan, Men, Masculinities and Society Julie Seymour, Social Research Methodology NATURE, ENVIRONMENT AND SOCIETY Philip W. Sutton © Philip W. Sutton 2004 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2004 978-0-333-99567-9 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorized act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First published 2004 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin’s Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-0-333-99568-6 ISBN 978-0-230-21244-2 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-0-230-21244-2 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress. For Derrick Sutton A crazy, mother’s son who loved his life Contents List of Tables ix Acknowledgements x Introduction 1 Classical sociology and environmental issues 3 Overview and structure of the book 6 Breakdown of chapters 8 A note on terminology 12 1 Modern Ideas of Nature and Environment 13 The environmental revolution 15 Changing sensibilities and attitudes towards nature 19 Conclusion 27 2 The Development of Environmental Movements 28 Environmental movements as new social movements 29 The sociogenesis of environmentalism 35 Twentieth-century environmentalism 41 Green political parties 47 Globalising the environmental movement 51 Conclusion 52 3 Theorising the Social and the Natural 55 The social construction of environmental problems 56 Critical realism and the environment 64 Roads beyond the dualistic horizon 67 Conclusion 74 4 The Ecocentric Challenge for Society and Sociology 76 Ecocentrism 76 Ecologism and political ideologies 83 vii viii Contents Environmental sociology 89 Conclusion 94 5 Living with Gaia: Deep Ecological and Social Selves 97 Theories of ecological selves 98 Ecofeminism and nature 104 Sociological theories of social selves 109 Conclusion 112 6 Environmentalism in a Risk Society 115 Ulrich Beck’s risk society thesis 116 Risk and the politics of nature 122 Risk discourse and Green politics 127 Conclusion 129 7 Modernity as an Unfinished Ecological Project 133 Green consumption in capitalist societies 133 Global sustainable development 140 Modernising ecologically 145 Conclusion 152 8 Postmodernity, Poststructuralism and Ecological Diversity 154 Poststructuralism and Postmodernism 155 Green politics as postmodern politics 159 Poststructuralist perspectives on environmentalism 163 Conclusion: what happened to nature? 169 9 Environment, Self and Society 173 Sociology and the ‘ecological turn’ 174 Nature, self and society – ‘the triad of basic controls’ 176 Conclusion 183 Bibliography 185 Index 208 List of Tables 2.1 Formation of selected nineteenth-century environmental organisations and groups 36 2.2 Formation of selected early twentieth-century environmental organisations and groups 41 2.3 Formation of selected late twentieth-century environmental organisations and groups 42 ix Acknowledgements First thanks must go to the editorial team at Palgrave Macmillan. In particular, I would like to thank the Series Editors, Graham Allan and Mary Maynard, for initiating and supporting this project. Sincere thanks to Catherine Gray, who recognised the need for the book in the first place and could not have been a more congenial and effective editor. Thanks also to Beverley Tarquini for seeing the book smoothly through the review and production process and suggesting the final, more accurate, title. An anonymous reviewer at Palgrave Macmillan made some extremely constructive comments on the original proposal for which I am grateful and the anonymous referee who read the completed manuscript also made some astute suggestions. Both have, hopefully, contributed towards a more cohesive and readable text. The various attempts to bridge the divide between environmen- tal issues and sociology take up a large part of the book. In this regard, special thanks are due to Geert de Vries for a stimulating discussion paper given at the ISA World Congress of Sociology, Brisbane, in 2002, which strengthened my growing conviction that a process sociological perspective might offer advantages over others in bringing environmental issues closer to sociology and vice versa. Richard Kilminster was also kind enough to read and comment on an earlier version of Chapter 9 at a significant point in the process of writing. At Robert Gordon University, I am indebted to Julian Bell for his creative manipulation of teaching timetables, without which the book may never have seen the light of day. Who said Departmental administration had to be dull?! I would also like to mention the students on my Environment and Society course who listened to my ramblings with forbearance and good humour, tackled a diverse x
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