TY - JOUR
T1 - Reviewing the relationship between neoliberal societies and nature
T2 - implications of the industrialized dominant social paradigm for a sustainable future
AU - Bogert, Jeanne M.
AU - Ellers, Jacintha
AU - lewandowsky, Stephan
AU - Balgopal, Meena M.
AU - Harvey, Jeffrey A.
N1 - Data archiving: no data
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - How a society relates to nature is shaped by the dominant social paradigm (DSP): a society’scollective view on social, economic, political, and environmental issues. The characteristics of the DSP have important consequences for natural systems and their conservation. Based on a synthesis of academic literature, we provide a new gradient of 12 types of human-nature relationships synthesized from scientific literature, and an analysis of where the DSP of industrialized, and more specifically, neoliberal societies fit on that gradient. We aim to answer how the industrialized DSP relates to nature, i.e., what types of human-nature relationships this DSP incorporates, and what the consequences of these relationships are for nature conservation and a sustainable future. The gradient of human-nature relationships is based on three defining characteristics: (1) a nature-culture divide, (2) core values, and (3) being anthropocentric or ecocentric. We argue that the industrialized DSP includes elements of the anthropocentric relationships of mastery, utilization, detachment, and stewardship. It therefore regards nature and culture as separate, is mainly driven by instrumental values, and drives detachment from and commodification of nature. Consequently, most green initiatives and policies driven by an industrialized and neoliberal DSP are based on economic incentives and economic growth, without recognition of the needs and limits of natural systems. This leads to environmental degradation and social inequality, obstructing the path to a truly sustainable society. To reach a more ecocentric DSP, systemic changes, in addition to individual changes, in the political and economic structures of the industrialized DSP are needed, along with a change in values and approach toward nature, long-term sustainability, and conservation. Key Words: conservation; dominant social paradigm; environmental degradation; human-nature relationships; industrialized society; Sustainability
AB - How a society relates to nature is shaped by the dominant social paradigm (DSP): a society’scollective view on social, economic, political, and environmental issues. The characteristics of the DSP have important consequences for natural systems and their conservation. Based on a synthesis of academic literature, we provide a new gradient of 12 types of human-nature relationships synthesized from scientific literature, and an analysis of where the DSP of industrialized, and more specifically, neoliberal societies fit on that gradient. We aim to answer how the industrialized DSP relates to nature, i.e., what types of human-nature relationships this DSP incorporates, and what the consequences of these relationships are for nature conservation and a sustainable future. The gradient of human-nature relationships is based on three defining characteristics: (1) a nature-culture divide, (2) core values, and (3) being anthropocentric or ecocentric. We argue that the industrialized DSP includes elements of the anthropocentric relationships of mastery, utilization, detachment, and stewardship. It therefore regards nature and culture as separate, is mainly driven by instrumental values, and drives detachment from and commodification of nature. Consequently, most green initiatives and policies driven by an industrialized and neoliberal DSP are based on economic incentives and economic growth, without recognition of the needs and limits of natural systems. This leads to environmental degradation and social inequality, obstructing the path to a truly sustainable society. To reach a more ecocentric DSP, systemic changes, in addition to individual changes, in the political and economic structures of the industrialized DSP are needed, along with a change in values and approach toward nature, long-term sustainability, and conservation. Key Words: conservation; dominant social paradigm; environmental degradation; human-nature relationships; industrialized society; Sustainability
U2 - 10.5751/ES-13134-270207
DO - 10.5751/ES-13134-270207
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85135921600
SN - 1708-3087
VL - 27
JO - Ecology and Society
JF - Ecology and Society
IS - 2
M1 - 7
ER -