John M. Meyer
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262028905
- eISBN:
- 9780262327107
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262028905.003.0003
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
The role and position of materiality is — perhaps surprisingly — deeply divisive among both scholars and activists concerned with environmental sustainability. On the one hand is an account – often ...
More
The role and position of materiality is — perhaps surprisingly — deeply divisive among both scholars and activists concerned with environmental sustainability. On the one hand is an account – often rooted in Ronald Inglehart’s postmaterialist values thesis but also reflected in the “eco-modernism” of authors including Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus – that minimizes the role of “objective” material conditions and practices in favor of “subjective” values. On the other hand is an account that reverses this relationship. This chapter argues for a conception of materiality and material practices that rejects this subjective/objective divide as a lens for understanding contemporary environmental politics. “New materialism” offers promising resources for this pursuit of a new understanding of environmental politics, but also contains potential pitfalls identified in this chapter.Less
The role and position of materiality is — perhaps surprisingly — deeply divisive among both scholars and activists concerned with environmental sustainability. On the one hand is an account – often rooted in Ronald Inglehart’s postmaterialist values thesis but also reflected in the “eco-modernism” of authors including Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus – that minimizes the role of “objective” material conditions and practices in favor of “subjective” values. On the other hand is an account that reverses this relationship. This chapter argues for a conception of materiality and material practices that rejects this subjective/objective divide as a lens for understanding contemporary environmental politics. “New materialism” offers promising resources for this pursuit of a new understanding of environmental politics, but also contains potential pitfalls identified in this chapter.
John M. Meyer
- Published in print:
- 2015
- Published Online:
- September 2015
- ISBN:
- 9780262028905
- eISBN:
- 9780262327107
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262028905.003.0008
- Subject:
- Environmental Science, Environmental Studies
Familiar tropes within environmental argument alternate between the pessimism of narratives focused on catastrophism and the optimism of so-called “eco-modernism.” The former relies upon crisis to ...
More
Familiar tropes within environmental argument alternate between the pessimism of narratives focused on catastrophism and the optimism of so-called “eco-modernism.” The former relies upon crisis to prompt positive change, while the latter exhibits an often-ungrounded faith in autonomous technology to resolve ecological challenges. By contrast, the central argument of this book is described as both more democratic and more hopeful than either of these more familiar alternatives. In this context, hope is situated between optimism and pessimism, providing an incentive for action unavailable to either of the other approaches.Less
Familiar tropes within environmental argument alternate between the pessimism of narratives focused on catastrophism and the optimism of so-called “eco-modernism.” The former relies upon crisis to prompt positive change, while the latter exhibits an often-ungrounded faith in autonomous technology to resolve ecological challenges. By contrast, the central argument of this book is described as both more democratic and more hopeful than either of these more familiar alternatives. In this context, hope is situated between optimism and pessimism, providing an incentive for action unavailable to either of the other approaches.
