Socio-ecological systems: Moving beyond the Human Exemptionalist Paradigm

Socio-Ecological Systems Moving Beyond the Human Exemptionalist Paradigm Andrew R. Jones, PhD Department of Sociology CSU Fresno

Anthropocentric analysis
Human Exemptionalist Paradigm:
Humans are exempt from laws of nature
Humans have “special attributes” that make them different from other species ( such as?? )
Human technology can overcome limits
“ Prometheanism” – pro-technological, anti-ecological views
“ Cornucopianism” – belief that continued progress and provision of material items for humankind can be met by similarly continued advances in technology

Anthropocentric analysis
Human Exemptionalist Paradigm: dominant within the social sciences until the 1960s
Figure 1.1: mainstream economic models
Figure 1.2: mainstream sociological models

Paradigm shift
New Ecological Paradigm
Figure 1.3: Environmental sociological model
Modern society is unsustainable

From HEP to NEP
New Ecological Paradigm
There are ultimate limits to
Population
Economic growth
Science-driven analysis; not ideological

Treadmill of Production
Allan Schnaiberg
Access to translated works by Nicholai Bukharin and other Russian scholars who addressed dialectical materialism in Marxism
Analysis of “societal-environmental dialectic” and “treadmill of production” rooted in Marxist political economy

Treadmill of Production
Theoretical framework
Captures dynamics of market forces, political institutions interacting to produce ecological disorganization
Accumulation of wealth and investments in capital-intensive technologies produces increasing social inequalities and greater ecological “withdrawals” (resource extraction) and “additions” (pollution)

Metabolic Rift
John Bellamy Foster
Analysis of Marx’s Capital
Marx studied the work of soil scientist Justus von Liebig
Crisis in soil fertility generated by urbanization
Incorporation of Second Law of Thermodynamics

Metabolic Rift
Metabolic rift in the most general sense refers to a disruption in the exchange between social systems and natural systems, which is hypothesized to lead to ecological crisis.
Rift analyses have recently grown in prominence among social scientists, particularly in sociology, being extended to analyses of the carbon cycle, fisheries, and caloric intake

Dialectical Materialism
Dialectics “is nothing more than the science of the general laws of motion and development of nature, human society and thought.” ~ Friedrich Engels
Put simply, it is the logic of motion
This logic applies to all forms of scientific analysis
Provides a common theoretical framework for examining social, biological, and ecological systems – a socio-ecological systems approach

A model of social, biological, and environmental interaction
Source for model : Integrative Science for Society and Environment: A Strategic Research Initiative
Long-term press Short-term pulse Ecosystem Services Biotic Structures Ecosystem Functioning External Drivers Human Cognition, Behavior, and Institutions Human Outcomes

ULTRA-FACES
Examining the interaction of human and biotic structures through an analysis of water usage and its impacts on biodiversity
Fresno: water metering taking place now
Facts: 51% of water – residential use, 70% used for landscaping
What impacts will metering have on human water use behaviors?
What impacts will metering have on biodiversity?

An SES model of water use and impacts on biodiversity
Source for model : Integrative Science for Society and Environment: A Strategic Research Initiative
Long-term press (water use) Short-term pulse (water metering) Ecosystem Services (nutrient cycling, climate regulation, food, water, habitat, cultural benefits) Ecosystem Functioning (species interaction, metabolic cycles, gene flow) External Drivers (Water availability, Water policies) Animal Diversity LULC Plant Diversity Individual
Identity
Cultural
Social
Psycho-
logical
Socio economic Status Education/ Environ. Awareness Civic Minded- ness Legal Rights/ Limits Institutional Metering Monitoring/ Enforcement H 2 O pricing Economic conditions Infrastructure decisions Land use decisions H 2 O use policies

Social component
Use of Fresno Bird Count observation sites
Collect plant and social data

Site selection had to account for municipal and county water jurisdiction in addition to socio-economic status

References
Angus, Ian. (2009) Marx, Engels and Darwin: How Darwin’s theory of evolution confirmed and extended the most fundamental concepts of Marxism . South Branch Publications
Catton, William and Riley Dunlap. (1978) “Environmental Sociology: A New Paradigm.” American Sociologist , 13: 41-49
Engels, Friedrich. (1940) The Dialectics of Nature . International
____. (1947) Anti-Dühring. Herr Eugen Dühring’s Revolution in Science. Progress Publishers
Foster, John Bellamy. (1999) “Marx’s Theory of Metabolic Rift: Classical Foundation for Environmental Sociology.” American Journal of Sociology 105(2): 366-405
Foster, John Bellamy. (2000) Marx’s Ecology. Monthly Review Press
Gould, K., David Pellow and A. Schnaiberg. (2008). The Treadmill of Production: Injustice and Unsustainability in the Global Economy . Paradigm Publishers
Levins, Richard and Richard Lewontin. (1985) The Dialectical Biologist . Harvard
Lewontin, Richard and Richard Levins. (2007) Biology Under the Influence: Dialectical Essays on Ecology, Agriculture, and Health . Monthly Review Press
Marx, Karl. (1976) Capital: Vol. I . Vintage Books
Schnaiberg, Allan. (1980) The Environment: From Surplus to Scarcity. Oxford University Press

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Socio-ecological systems: Moving beyond the Human Exemptionalist Paradigm

by Madhusudan Katti on Sep 25, 2010

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Socio-ecological systems: Moving beyond the Human Exemptionalist Paradigm — Presentation Transcript