Environmental Justice and the New Pluralism

The Challenge of Difference for Environmentalism

David Schlosberg author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Oxford University Press

Published:22nd Aug '02

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Environmental Justice and the New Pluralism cover

In the first ever theoretical treatment of the environmental justice movement, David Schlosberg demonstrates the development of a new form of 'critical' pluralism, in both theory and practice. Taking into account the evolution of environmentalism and pluralism over the course of the century, the author argues that the environmental justice movement and new pluralist theories now represent a considerable challenge to both conventional pluralist thought and the practices of the major groups in the US environmental movement. Much of recent political theory has been aimed at how to acknowledge and recognize, rather than deny, the diversity inherent in contemporary life. In practice, the myriad ways people define and experience the 'environment' has given credence to a form of environmentalism that takes difference seriously. The environmental justice movement, with its base in diversity, its networked structure, and its communicative practices and demands, exemplifies the attempt to design political practices beyond those one would expect from a standard interest group in the conventional pluralist model.

Review from previous edition: Schlosberg's study displays a sensitivity and sophistication in its analysis and evaluation of the evolution of both pluralist theory and the environmental justice movement in the US ... This is one of the most impressive and thought-provoking of recent books within the field of environmental political thought. * Environmental Politics *
Review from previous edition '[this] is a serious, well-grounded, and original piece of work which makes a valuable contribution to both the normative and policy-related aspects of contemporary environmentalism.' * Political Studies *
'[this] book is that rare thing - a combination of solid empirical social science research integrated with a critical theoretical framework .Schlosberg has produced an original, important and theoretically informed, critical book which deserves to read by all those interested in developing an understanding of grassroots environmental resistance .' * Capitalism, Nature, Socialism *
Careful and tightly argued, but also eloquent and readable, _Environmental Justice and the New Pluralism_ deserves a broad audience. While environmentalists have long understood that ecosystems thrive on diversity and require analytical and ethical frameworks to match, the metaphors have sometimes not been taken seriously enough in that other, stranger ecosystem - the social and political world. Schlosberg invites us to bridge the gap, to think politically about problems and solutions that can only, ever be political.   Unlike many books in political science, Environmental Justice and the New Pluralism will be as helpful to political activists as it will be to academics .This book is important because it is one of the first by a political theorist to examine the theoretical implications of the environmental justice movement carefully. ' * American Political Science Review *
David Schlosberg raises the issues of diversity, pluralism, and environmental politics in ways that compel attention. Careful and tightly argued, but also eloquent and readable, _Environmental Justice and the New Pluralism_ deserves a broad audience. While environmentalists have long understood that ecosystems thrive on diversity and require analytical and ethical frameworks to match, the metaphors have sometimes not been taken seriously enough in that other, stranger ecosystem - the social and political world. Schlosberg invites us to bridge the gap, to think politically about problems and solutions that can only, ever be political. * Bill Chaloupka, Professor of Environmental Studies, The University of Montana *

ISBN: 9780199256419

Dimensions: 216mm x 139mm x 15mm

Weight: 294g

236 pages