Social Theory and the Environment

Environmental degradation is no longer a peripheral concern of the social sciences and contemporary politics; it is an unavoidable and pressing reality. This book seeks to establish whether contemporary social theory can help us understand the structural origins of environmental degradation and environmental politics. The book opens by arguing that the historical bequest of classical social theory is very limited. Marx, Weber and Durkheim lived long enough to witness the environmental consequences of modern economic growth, but died too soon to witness its long-term consequences and the growth of political resistance. Goldblatt attempts to transcend the limits of that tradition through a critical investigation of the work of Anthony Giddens, Andre Gorz, Juergen Habermas and Ulrich Beck. An analysis is offered of the roles of capitalism, state socialism and industrialism in generating environmental degradation; the environmental implications of urbanism and globalization; the integration of environmental questions with political economy; and the structural origins of environmental movements. The book concludes with a discussion of the relationship between conceptions of socialism in social theory and its relevance to contemporary environmental politics.