Sustainability and Environmental Sociology: Putting the Economy in its Place and Moving Toward an Integrative Socio-Ecology

Sustainability

Thomas E. Shriver¹  Stefano B. Longo¹  Rebecca Clausen²  Brett Clark³ 

[1] Department of Sociology and Anthropology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695, USA;Department of Sociology, Fort Lewis College, Durango, CO 81301, USA;Department of Sociology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA;

关键词: economic development;    growth;    social theory;    human ecology;    treadmill of production;    metabolic rift;   

DOI  :  10.3390/su8050437

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

The vague, yet undoubtedly desirable, notion of sustainability has been discussed and debated by many natural and social scientists. We argue that mainstream conceptions of sustainability, and the related concept of sustainable development, are mired in a “pre-analytic vision” that naturalizes capitalist social relations, closes off important questions regarding economic growth, and thus limits the potential for an integrative socio-ecological analysis. Theoretical and empirical research within environmental sociology provides key insights to overcome the aforementioned problems, whereby the social, historical, and environmental relationships associated with the tendencies and qualities of the dominant economic system are analyzed. We highlight how several environmental sociology perspectives—such as human ecology, the treadmill of production, and metabolic analysis—can serve as the basis for a more integrative socio-ecological conception and can help advance the field of sustainability science.

【 授权许可】

Unknown